Change Of Hearts
by riderofdragons
Summary: Ten years after Healing Heart and everyone has moved away. Everyone except Aijou, Naru and Keitaro's daughter. Now she want her family back. The next gen of Hinata gathers, but can Aijou deal with the problems they bring? R&R and enjoy. Chap 13 up!
1. An Unexpected Reunion

Rider: _Konichiwa Minna-san_! How's everyone been?

Wraiths: (shrugs) I'm alright I guess.

Star: Meh, ok.

Rider: (sweat drops) I know who you two are. I was talking to the readers

Star: Well you didn't say that. Now did you?

Wraiths: Yeah, what she said.

Rider: Never mind. (rubs at his temples) Anyway, a few people have asked for this, (glances at Star) and threatened me with death if I didn't write this, so I figured I'd write a sequel while there were a few people that still remember the original. So, I hope you all enjoy the story. And please bear with me as I try to establish all the new characters, it may take a little while to get this running smoothly.

Star: Wait a minute! Is this…?

Rider: Didn't you read the summery?

Star: No.

Wraiths: Dumbass.

Rider: (sweat drops as another fight breaks out) Only six more weeks until winter break. Only six more weeks until winter break. Only six more…

ooooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter One: An Unexpected Reunion

She threw open the door to her room and stomped inside. Her book bag was sent through the air and crashed against the far wall with a dull thud. As the bag slid to the floor one of the clasps broke free of the bag and textbooks, papers, and a few make up items spilled out on to the floor. She didn't seem to notice any of this, except for one small white envelope that mocked her by landing at the top of the messy pile.

Still fuming the young woman stripped out of the restrictive sailor _fuku _her school required the students to wear and changed in to more comfortable clothing. After a few moments of deliberation, she selected a black, spaghetti-strap shirt with a small red emblem of a devil that rested right above her chest. Next she slipped into a short, black skirt that was held in place with an oversized, metal-studded leather belt. Much as she hated to admit it, the skirt was getting tight, she would have to go back on a diet soon if she wasn't careful. She then put on a pair of black, leather boots that reached almost all the way up to her skirt hem and secured the large metal buckles to lock her foot wear into place. Her outfit assembled she modeled her out fit before her full-length mirror.

Collecting a few of the make-up items on the floor she set about her next task. In moments her lips were adorned with midnight-black lipstick. Matching eye shadow also made it's way upon her pale face. She placed the make up down on her dresser and picked up a few hair-ties. With a few quick motions she had tied her just longer than shoulder length black hair up into two messy fountain-style pony-tails. She quickly removed the ties and bushed the hair our straight so that it fell around her face. She opened the secret compartment in her closet and pulled out a spray can that she then used to dye in a few purple streaks of color into her already dark hair. She pulled back and posed before the mirror again. She smiled. "_Oba-san_ has nothing on me." With one last hateful look at the white envelope still on the floor, she turned for the door.

"Where do you thing your going?"

The young woman turned to the sound of her little brother's voice. "I'm going out. What do you care Kam?"

The boy was at least four years junior to his sister. His brown hair was close cut, but seemed to be unable to keep the longer bangs from obstructing his view. Unlike his more out going sister, he was still dressed in his blue slacks and blazer of his school uniform. "Do you realize that mom and dad will kill you if you leave now?"

"Mom and dad won't find out about what happened for months." The girl replied as she pushed past the smaller boy.

Kam pushed into his sister's room.

"Get out of my room you little brat!"

Kam ignored her, snatched up the white envelope, and ripped it open to read the contents. "Dear Mr. And Mrs. Urashima, we regretfully wish to inform you that your daughter, one Urashima Aijou, has been disciplined with a two week suspension for conduct unbecoming a student. As this is the third suspension this semester, any further infractions of the school's disciplinary codes will result in full expulsion." Kam threw the letter in Aijou's direction. "I don't understand you. You busted your ass to get into that academy. Mom picked up a second job tutoring, and Dad has done back to back excavations to pay for the tuition for that place."

Aijou turned and began to walk away. "Well, because of those stupid excavations Mom and Dad are away for months at a time. If I had know that would happen I wouldn't have studied all that stuff and just gone to a public school."

Kam pulled a small, silver, cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "You walk out that door and Dad's speed dial number goes off. Your months of them not know about this evaporates into minutes and they come home to deal with you."

"You're bluffing." Aijou searched her brother's eyes, and knew that he wasn't. With a frustrated grunt, she caved. She forced Kam from her room and slammed the door. "And don't even think about using the onsen until I'm done with it!"

Kam shook his head and walked down the hall to his own room. Once the door was closed he smirked slightly. "Good thing she didn't know that my cell battery was almost dead." He sat down at his desk and pulled out his homework, not even bothering to change out of his uniform. "I just wish I knew why Aijou's been so moody lately." He pulled a CD player from his backpack and placed the headphones over his ears before getting to work.

oooooo

Aijou slid the door to the bath and removed her towel. After rinsing her self off with a bucket from the sink, she watched the black and purple dye from her hair swirl down the drain. She made a face at the draining water and pulled a strand of her auburn hair into view. "It's not fair, I wish I had hair like aunt Kanako's."

She sank into the hot water of the bath hoping that the heat would ease her mind as well as her body. "Maybe I should have let Kam call our parents…at least then we'd have a few more people home." She pulled her knees to her chest. "This place has been so lonely since everyone moved away." She ground her teeth together and splashed the water angrily. "They all left at the same time!" She hung her head. "They all abandoned me." Her head snapped up as she heard the door slid open and shut. "Who could that be?" Aijou whispered.

"No one answered the door." A voice stated. "I should take advantage of that small window while I can. I look like trash, and if I'm going to try to beg a favor of Uncle Kei and Aunt Naru, I should try to clean myself up a bit."

"Why was bad eye sight the one thing that I inherited from both my stupid parents?" Aijou squinted her eyes to try to focus on the new figure. Her first thought was that it was Kam just being a jerk again, but this new boy was much darker skinned. "Who is that?"

The boy set his large back pack down on the ground with a groan and rubbed at his shoulders and back. "Damn that thing is heavy." He posed in front of the mirror over the sinks and flexed his muscles. "Sensei was right though…" He struck a different pose. "I have gotten bigger."

Aijou sweat dropped and nearly burst out laughing. "If that's bigger, I would hate to see what he was like before." Her eyes went big and round as she saw what happened next though. "Oh my…"

The boy disrobed and slipped into the water without rinsing. "Oh, that feels good. Even if I get turned away, just being able to soak in the springs again is worth the trip."

Aijou blinked in confusion. "He talks like he's been here before, but…" She shook her head. "Why can't I think of who it could be?" She sighed and reached for her towel, only to find that it wasn't there. She panicked as she remembered leaving her towel by the sinks. "No problem, no problem. He doesn't know I'm here, so I'll just wait until he leaves and then I'll sneak out completely unnoticed." She nodded to herself in agreement to try and reassure herself.

There she sat waiting for this strange boy to leave the bath. The only problem was, he didn't leave. He just sat there. After almost a half-hour Aijou groaned. "What's this guy's damage? I'm turning into a prune over here." She stopped as the answer presented itself. "He's snoring…snoring!" She quickly clapped her hand over her mouth in fear of waking the man up. She jumped up excitedly. "Now's my chance to go." She had made it half-way across the bath when her luck ran out. Her face paled as she saw Kam's silhouette behind the rice-paper door that lead to the bath.

"Hey Aijou!" Kam called from the hall way. "I don't feel like leftovers for dinner tonight. You want to order something in?"

Aijou turned as she heard something splash behind her.

The tan boy's eyes went wide. "Ai-chan?" His eyes roamed over her body.

Kam opened the door as he heard the unfamiliar voice. "Aijou?" His attention turned between his sister and the naked boy. "Whoa, ok…"

The tan boy still stood wide-eyed. "You've really grown…"

"What the hell are you two staring at!" Aijou turned and kicked the tan boy in the nose, collapsing him back into the pool. She then spun and punched Kam in the face. She glared down at the two unconscious males. "How dare they look at me like that!" She stormed through the old dorm and into her room. After a quick selection and change into an old pair of red sweatpants and an orange sweater, picking up her glasses and cell phone, she went back downstairs. She started to dial the police to arrest the trespasser when she entered the bath again. "I don't believe it…" She readjusted her glasses and hung up the phone in mid-call. "Shinichi?"

oooooo

Kam watched in confusion as Shinichi shoveled another plate of lo-mein into his mouth. "You're Shinichi?"

The tan skinned boy nodded and slurped up some more noodles. "Yep, that's me." He looked over at Kam's plate. "You going to eat that?"

Kam looked down at the food that remained on his plate and handed it over to his friend. "I just can't believe it's you, I mean the last time we saw you was…"

"Was when you and Aunt Shinobu and Uncle Ken moved to the States." Aijou glared at Shinichi. "You didn't even say good bye jerk."

Shinichi finished off Kam's dinner and began to reach for the carry out containers. "I was, like, six at the time we moved. Besides, it wasn't my idea to move so suddenly." His face fell as Aijou moved the food containers out of his reach. "Hey! My food!"

"No noodles for you!" Aijou yelled at him. "Not until you tell me why you really left. And what you're doing back here now."

"That's all?" Shinichi smiled. "Ok, like I said, it wasn't my choice to leave before. And if I had known, I would have come to see you first and say goodbye." He reached over and took back the noodles. "As for why I'm here now, I missed you guys."

Aijou's expressions softened. "Really?"

"_Hai_, I was forced to leave my best buds behind. I didn't want to go in the first place." Shinichi began digging into the remained food. "Plus, I kind of need some help from Uncle Kei and Aunt Naru too."

"Mom and Dad?" Kam asked. "What kind of help do you need?"

"I knew you had an ulterior motive." Aijou continued to glare as Shinichi ate. "Yeah, I can't wait to hear this."

"Whas dat supposed to mean?" Shinichi asked as he swallowed another mouthful of lo-mein. "I need Aunt Naru's help cause I want to transfer to a school here in Japan, but my grades are terrible. I need her to tutor me."

Kam nodded. "I can understand that, but…"

"And what do you need from our father?" Aijou cut her brother off. "You want him to take you around the world on his excavations?"

Shinichi shook his head. "I've been around the world enough as it is with my dad's touring. No, I want Uncle Kei to train me."

"Train you?" Aijou shook her head in confusion. "What do you mean 'train'?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "You do know how great a fighter you dad is don't you?"

Kam blinked. "You sure we're talking about the same guy? Dad knows how to take a hit from Mom pretty well, but he's never been in a fight in his whole life I think."

Shinichi shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Dad said Uncle Kei was a great fighter."

"As I remember, Uncle Ken was a champion Kendo artist." Aijou recalled. "Why not have him train you?"

"I tried." Shinichi sounded sad at this. "But he won't train me. He says there is no need for his arts to be passed down. He says that isn't the legacy he wants to leave to me." He shrugged and finished the last of the meal. "I don't know the full story, but Mom said I should let it go, so I did."

"Then what were you talking about before with your sensei being right?" Aijou paused as she saw Shinichi eyeing her unfinished meal hungrily and pushed the plate toward him. "I hope you get a stomach ache from all this food."

Shinichi smiled. "Not likely, but thanks for the meal anyway." He paused to wolf-down the meal. "I've been training with Kokuei-sensei for a few years, but he's kind of a purist when it comes to martial arts. Old school training techniques, isolated wilderness training grounds, have to catch your own dinner, the works. You know?" He lay down his chopsticks and patted his belly. "It's been a while since I had a meal like that."

"And you want to subject yourself to more torture like that?" Kam shook his head. "You're as crazy as ever."

"You never complained when we went on adventure as kids." Shinichi pointed out. "So, when do your parents come home so I can ask for their help."

Aijou glanced at the clock. "Well, it's just about nine o'clock now. You should only have to wait another six months."

"Oh ok, that's not…six months!" Shinichi slumped in his chair. "I can't wait that long…"

Aijou leaned back in her chair. "Where are you staying?"

Shinichi blinked. "I only just arrived here today, I was hoping I could stay here."

Aijou nodded. "That's what I thought. Technically, I'm in charge with my parents gone…"

"For all the good it does." Kam teased.

"Shut up dork!" Aijou shot back. "Anyway, I could let you stay here, but…"

Shinichi leaned forward expectantly. "But…"

"But you'll have to help out with the chores and stuff around here." Aijou paused a moment. "Kam and I will even help tutor you for your entrance exams as an added bonus. How's that sound?"

Kam blinked. "If I'm being volunteered for tutoring lessons, you think you can teach me some fighting moves in exchange?"

Shinichi nodded. "Sure, but start training really early most days."

"I can deal with that." Kam grinned excitedly.

"It's settled then." Aijou kicked her feet up on the table. "Now get started on the dishes you two."

"_Nani_?" Kam stared at his sister. "Why do we have to do the dishes?"

Aijou glared at him. "I paid for the take out. You expect me to wash dishes too?"

"You only paid for dinner to make sure that I didn't report your suspension to Mom and Dad!" Kam countered.

Shinichi let out a laugh. "Prim and proper Ai-chan got suspended? I have to hear this story."

"It's like this…" Kam began before a plate came crashing down on his head.

Aijou fumed. "It wasn't that big of a deal!"

Shinichi laughed again. "This just keeps getting better."

The three old friends laughed and traded insults back and forth for awhile as they caught up on old times, the dishes momentarily forgotten.

oooooo

Aijou slipped out from the covers of her futon and slowly made her way up to the roof. She smoothed out her yellow pajamas with sunburst patterns and silently made her way through the halls. After dinner, and the ensuing play fighting, she and the others had decided to go to bed. The only problem was, she couldn't sleep. She stopped as she reached the roof and saw that someone else was already in her favorite spot. "Kam?"

The boy turned. "Nope, it's me."

Aijou almost glared at Shinichi as his face came into view, but instead she couldn't help but smile. Something in the way his emerald green eyes sparkled when he smiled, making them stand out even more against his tan face. Or, perhaps the way he spiked his hair, so deep a black it appeared almost blue, that he couldn't seem to manage to keep the bangs from falling into his eyes. Aijou studied the friend she hadn't seen in just short of a decade.

Shinichi had borrowed a pair of Kam's shorts and an old shirt to sleep in, but Aijou was surprised to see how tight the clothes were on him though. When last they had seen each other, the two boys had been nearly identical in size. Now, Shinichi was taller, and better muscled, and dare she say it, kind of cute. Aijou shook her head at the though. She was almost five years older than him. "Nice to meet you, me."

Shinichi blinked and raised a confused eyebrow. He then smiled. "Oh, I get it!"

Aijou laughed as she sat down on the roof. "I can never tell when you're kidding around and when you're not."

"You should probably just assume that I'm not then." Shinichi grinned as he sat beside Aijou and poked his own temple. "Not enough brain power to make jokes like those."

Aijou laughed. "Yeah, that is true I suppose."

Shinichi pouted. "You didn't have to agree quite that fast."

Aijou grabbed Shinichi around the neck and held him in a headlock as she gave him a noogie. "But you make it so easy!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Friction burn!" Shinichi playfully wailed as he tried to push away from her he stopped as he heard Aijou let out a startle squeal. "Oh, boy…" He looked down and found his hand had inadvertently landed on Aijou's pajama covered chest. "You didn't have those when I left…"

Aijou cut off his lame attempt at a joke with a quick punch that buried Shinichi's head into the roofing tiles. "What is wrong with you!?"

Shinichi pulled his head out of it's earthenware prison, along with a bump nearly as big his fist. He waved his hands franticly in a defensive motion. "It was an accident! I swear!"

Aijou huffed and moved away from Shinichi a little bit, but didn't leave the roof. "Yeah, I'll bet." She looked out over the distant sea. "How are Aunt Shinobu and Uncle Ken?"

Shinichi turned and also watched the water. "They're ok I guess. I mean when I actually get to see them."

Aijou blinked. "I thought you guys all live together."

"We do." Shinichi nodded. "But with my Dad always on tour with his band, it can be months at a time that I don't see him."

"I think I can understand that feeling." Aijou agreed bitterly. "My parents are never here either."

"Sounds like you're angry over that." Shinichi observed.

"Well, yeah, aren't you?" Aijou pulled her legs up to her chest and lay her head on her knees as she faced him.

Shinichi shrugged and lay on his back. "I don't know, sometimes, I guess…"

"See?" Aijou turned back.

"But other times, I'm kind of happy." Shinichi continued. "Because of what he does we live pretty well. He always takes care of Mom and Mai and I too, so I can't really complain. I just…"

Aijou was shocked, she had no idea there were so many similarities between her and Shinichi. "Just what?"

"Nothing." Shinichi quickly clamed up. "It's nothing really?"

Aijou looked at him worriedly. "You're still a terrible liar."

Shinichi nodded slowly, "Yeah, I suppose I am." He rolled over away from Aijou as the wind blew past.

Aijou shivered against the breeze. "I'm going to head in and try to get some rest."

Shinichi nodded and rolled back on to his back. "Ok, good night."

Aijou stood. "You may want to come inside too, you don't want to get sick."

Shinichi smiled. "Don't worry about me. I won't be long anyway. I just want to watch the stars for a while."

With a nod, Aijou turned and walked back to her room.

Shinichi watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore. He then watched the stars until his eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep on the roof.

oooooo

Kam woke to the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. "Leave me alone _onee-chan_, it's way to early in the morning." He rolled over and pulled his covers up over his head.

Shinichi's temple throbbed. "Dude, look at me. Do I look like your sister?"

Kam turned and glared at his friend. "What do you want?"

"You said you wanted me to give you some training in exchange for tutoring right?" Shinichi dropped a training uniform on top of Kam's covers. "I'm starting in ten by the back waterfall if you want to join me."

Kam looked over at his clock. The neon bulb blinked as it changed and Kam groaned. "It's four twenty in the morning. No one trains this early. Not even Aunt Motoko trained this early when she was still staying here!" He yelled after his friend. Despite his protests, he rose from his bed and dressed quickly into the uniform, a simple set of black pants and black shirt. "Must be crazy to do this." He muttered.

Kam ran from his room to the back door of the Hinata-sou and along the back path until he reached the waterfall. He smiled as he saw that Shinichi was just arriving at the clearing. "What's the matter slowpoke? I thought you be already to go by the time I got here." He stretched his legs. "Guess I'm just to fast for you."

Shinichi grinned at his friend's teasing. "You should save your energy when you can." He pulled his back pack from behind a large stone. "Normally I begin with meditation, but since you are so full of energy, we'll start with strength training." He tossed a second back pack to Kam.

Kam caught the bag, but just barely. "What's in here? Rocks?"

Shinichi nodded and opened his own bag, revealing an enormous boulder. "Like I said, strength training. Yours is a lot lighter than mine, but it should be a good start for you." He hoisted his bag up over his shoulder. "Now lets go, we have at least twenty miles to cover before first light."

Kam placed his bag on his back, and immediately fell backwards. "There's no way I'm going to be able to go twenty miles with this on!"

Shinichi blinked. "Really? You mean I have to reduce my normal route even more?"

Kam's brown eyes went wide. "You mean you made the route shorter already?"

Shinichi and started to walk. "Yeah, now let's go!" He started slow and then began to run."

Kam struggled to get to his feet. "Wait up!"

oooooo

Aijou scraped the burnt fish cakes into the trash can and placed the sludge that was supposed to be rice into the sink, hoping that the soapy water would loosen it from the pan enough to also throw away. "Mom's cooking looks terrible, but at least it's edible. I can't even manage that." She complained as she took some cereal and poured it into a bowl. "I wonder if Shinichi learned how to cook? Maybe I can get him to do the cooking in exchange for his staying here too." She giggled at the idea. "I'm going to turn that boy into my personal servant." She turned and nearly collided with a small girl. She screamed in surprise and sent her cereal bowl flying through the air.

The little girl's eyes widened in fear and she also screamed. She stared at the older girl until the clay bowl came crashing to the ground and shattered. "_Gomen nasai! Gomen nasai_!" She bowed to Aijou and bent to start cleaning up the mess. "_Gomen nasai_."

Aijou crouched down to help clean up the mess. "It's ok, you're not in trouble. Just don't sneak up on people like that, kay?"

The little girl nodded, her long blonde hair falling over her deep blue eyes leaving only the lower half of her pale face visible. "_Hai_." She swallowed hard to try and calm down, but the tears came anyway.

Aijou panicked. "Now what?" She thought silently. "_Kuso_! I don't know what do with kids! Especially when they're crying! What was it Mom used to do with Kam?"

The little girl looked up from the mess of the broken bowl as she felt a hand on her back. What she saw was Aijou with a reassuring smile, that she happily returned.

"That's better." Aijou, with the help of the girl, quickly swept up the remaining mess. "Now then, what can I do for you?" She watched as the little girl shifted nervously, her hands fiddling with the excess fabric of her dress anxiously. "Why don't we start with introducing ourselves? I'm Aijou."

The young girl nodded, but still shook like a leaf on a windy day. "N-nice to m-meet you." She bowed deeply again. "My name is…"

End Chapter One

Rider: I think everyone know the setup now, but I'll say it again just to make sure. I like hearing what you, the readers, have to say. If you have comments, criticisms, flames, or ideas to suggest, please drop me note. (waves the hands of the unconscious Star and Wraiths) Till the next, live well all.


	2. Thief

Rider: _Konbawa Minna-san._ Glad to see that people are enjoying this so far. Anyway, lets respond to a few questions that were tossed my way. Actually, this is really for the questions left over from the last story I did. So…

Star: Shouldn't you answer those questions in ISOHP's body somewhere.

Rider: (glares) Shut up. Anyway…

To Watanuki: Q1 - maybe, you'll just have to draw your own conclusions, Q2 - It is unknown what form they came back in. Q3 - His bonded is unknown, but perhaps with his mixed blood, he is his own bonded…

To KylaranAeldin: No, no crossover. Just needed a name of a notable swordsman…and I had just been reading the latest volume of RK. But the Fates said, the world had been reborn, who says that everything was the same as it was before. And yes I was a bit tired, sorry if that took away from the story.

Wraiths: Are you done yet? I want to move on with the story.

Rider: (smacks Wraiths with a paper fan) We move on when I say so…which just happens to be now. Enjoy everyone.

ooooo

Change Of Hearts

Chapter Two: Thief

Kam got to the top of the mountain and collapsed. "Can we take a break yet?"

Shinichi lifted the heavy pack from his friend's back. "You wuss." He teased. "We've barely gotten through the first half of the morning set."

"You do this every morning?" Kam sat up taking deep breaths. "You're nuts!"

Shinichi nodded. "That's what _imouto_ tells me too." He stripped off his own pack. "You did well though, only four hours for your first run."

Kam launched a wild punch at Shinichi in jest. "Yeah, like you probably did any better."

Shinichi easily dodged the blow. "A little, not much, but a little." He dropped to the ground quickly and swept Kam's legs out from under him with a quick kick.

Kam landed with a grunt. "What was that for!?"

"If you still have enough energy after that run to fight with me, you didn't run hard enough." Shinichi flipped to his feet and helped his friend up as well. "Guess we'll move on to actual hand-to-hand combat since you're so energetic."

Kam slumped. "On second thought, I'm really tired." He dodged to the left as a foot came dangerously close to his face. "Come on! Didn't you say we had to do meditation or something!?"

Shinichi smiled. "Fine, have it your way." He hoisted his pack once again, Kam's bag, and finally Kam himself before heading for the cliff.

Kam's eyes went wide. "You-you're nuts!

Shinichi began to run. "_Banzi_!"

"_Kami-sama_! Help me!" Kam screamed as he and Shinichi leapt over the edge toward the waterfall far below.

ooooooo

Aijou sipped at her miso and paused to chew the bit of clam that she tasted. "This is incredible!" She picked up the _oni-giri_ also on her tray and took out a big chomp. "Is this the fish I burnt?"

The young girl nodded. "_Hai_. If you remove the burn parts of the skin and add a little soy sauce for moisture before wrapping them in the rice they are almost as good as new." She looked down at the floor nervously. "But you would not have asked if they tasted as good as new. _Gomen nasai_. I've ruined your breakfast by using the burnt fish."

Aijou shook her head. "Mai, this tastes delicious! I'm amazed that you could make something like this out of my screw up. Especially at your age, to be such a good cook." She took another bite of the rice ball. "I'm jealous."

Mai blushed deeply and fidgeted her hands in her lap, causing her long white skirt to bunch slightly. Her head fell forward and her hair cascaded over her face again to reach her baby-blue tee-shirt. "It's no big deal really. Mama makes breakfasts that are much better than this."

"Don't sell yourself short kid." Aijou took another rice ball and handed it to the small girl. "I won't eat alone, have some breakfast with me."

The little girl happily accepted the offering. "_Arigatto_."

Aijou smiled and sipped her tea. "So, are you also going to try to get into a school here in Japan?"

Mai blinked. "_Nani_?"

"Shinichi said he came back to transfer to a school here." Aijou explained. "Is that why you're here?"

Mai looked back down at the floor. "_Onii-chan_ didn't come here because of school issues. He ran away."

Aijou choked on a clam. "Why did he do that?"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know. It might be because…

"You are insane!" Kam yelled as the front door slid open. "One hundred percent, certifiably, padded room required, straight jacket formal wear necessary, insane!"

Aijou let her rice ball hang from her mouth. "Oh great, the boys are back." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "There goes the nice quiet conversation."

"Give me a break." Shinichi countered. "I slowed down way more than usual to accommodate you."

"You jumped off a freaking mountain! _Baka_! _Baka_! _Baka_!" Kam yelled back.

The two girls ran from the dinning room table as they heard the sound of furniture being moved about roughly. When they reached the living room the found Shinichi pinning Kam into the couch.

"Maehara Shinichi! You let him go right now!" Mai screamed.

Shinichi's head snapped up right as he heard the voice. His head turned and looked on the small girl. "_Imouto_? What are you doing here?" A startled cry passed through his lips as Aijou's foot collided with his forehead.

Aijou flipped her hair back and huffed in anger. "He may be an annoying dork, but Kamali is still my brother. Only I'm allowed to beat him up." She screamed as her hair was pulled. She swung around wildly as she tried to remove Mai from her hair.

"Don't hurt _onii-chan_!" Mai held on for dear life against the wild ride she was now receiving. Eventually, she lost her grip and was sent high into the air.

Kam sprinted across the room and caught the falling girl. "Are you ok?"

Mai looked up into the brown eyes of her benefactor, and quickly looked back down as her face took on a rosy hue. "_Hai, arigato_."

Kam looked down at the blushing girl, and a slight flush came to his own face. "Oh, yeah, no problem."

Shinichi buried his elbow into Kam's head. "You can put my sister down now."

Mai turned to her brother and placed her hands on her hips. "What do you think you're doing bullying that little boy!?"

Aijou blinked. "Actually, Kam is a year older than Shinichi."

Mai gasped in surprise. "Really? He's so much smaller though."

Kam hung his head.

Mai waved her hands nervously as she realized what she had said. "_Gomen nasai_! I didn't mean it like that." She bowed to Kam deeply in apology.

Kam nodded sadly. "It ok…"

Shinichi draped an arm over his friend's shoulders. "Don't worry Kam. After my training you'll be every bit as big as you want to be."

Kam shook Shinichi off. "Hell no, I'm done. You can keep your mountain jumping to yourself. I quit."

Shinichi's response was cut off as both his and Kam's stomachs growled. "Maybe we should continue this conversation after breakfast?"

Kam nodded. "Something smells good." He grinned. "Aijou must not have made breakfast this morning."

"You're a jerk." Aijou glared at her brother. "But you're right, I didn't make breakfast. She did."

Kam turned. "Oh yeah, I don't think we've met. I'm…"

"Kamali." The young girl nodded. "Your sister told me. I'm Mai Maehara."

Now it was Kam's turn to glare at Aijou. "Did you have to tell her my full name?" He grimaced as Aijou stuck her tongue out at him. "Hey, wait a minute, Maehara? Isn't that your name?" He turned around to face Shinichi, and face faulted as he found no one there.

"These rice balls are really good." Shinichi commented from the dining room. "Did you make these Mai?"

The young girl beamed at the complement. "_Hai, onii-chan_."

Kam went running to the other room and drop kicked Shinichi. "You better leave me some!"

Mai went wide eyed as the two boys began fighting over the remaining rice balls. "I can make more if you'd like." She tried to offer.

"_Baka_." Aijou shook her head as the two boys fought and removed the plate of rice balls. She popped one in her mouth before offering one to Mai.

Mai nibbled the snack as she watched the fight. "Shouldn't we stop this?"

Aijou tossed the last rice ball into the air and caught it in her mouth. "Nah, let them hose down the floor with all that testosterone. Maybe once they get it out of there system they'll grow up a little bit." She swallowed the last of her meal. "Besides, more of your cooking for us."

Mai continued to nibble at her rice ball and watched the fight anxiously.

ooooo

"Then I substitute X for Y and take the square route?" Shinichi asked as his pencil hovered over his exam sheet.

Aijou snapped her own pencil in frustration. "No." She said in a failing attempt to remain calm. "You have to take the square route of Y in the first equation to find the true value and then substituted that into the Y portion of the second equation so you can find the X value. Understand?"

Shinichi readied himself to try and solve the problem. He then stopped and gave Aijou a blank stare. "Nope, not at all."

With a scream, Aijou clubbed Shinichi over the head with the heavy math textbook. "How can you not understand something as simple as simulations equations!?"

Shinichi gingerly rubbed the rising bump on his head. "I told you my grades were terrible."

Aijou calmed as her thought ran around her. "I really want to know why Shinichi ran away from home." She thought silently. "But Mai made me promise that I wouldn't ask him. Maybe I can trip him up a bit."

"Ai-chan?" Shinichi waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Earth to Ai-chan…"

Aijou glared at Shinichi. "You want to be hit again?"

Shinichi shrank back fearfully. "No…"

Aijou turned the page of the text book and studied the problems. "What school are you hoping to transfer to?"

Shinichi blinked. "Huh?"

"You said that you wanted to transfer to a school here in Japan. Which one?" Aijou asked again. "This way I know how hard to push you."

Shinichi scratched his head. "I hadn't really thought that far ahead truthfully." He pondered the question a moment. "How about the one you go to?"

Aijou laughed. "You wouldn't be able to get into that school."

Shinichi slumped. "It's that tough?"

"Actually, yeah, a little bit." Aijou nodded. "But that's not the reason."

Shinichi blinked. "_Nani_?"

Aijou chuckled. "I go to Maohora Academy. It's an all girl school, so you'd never get in." She laughed again. "And even if you did, you wouldn't want to stay."

"Why is that?" Shinichi asked as he stood to get a couple of drinks.

Aijou took the soda that he offered and popped it open. "We got some little kid teacher last semester and the girls can't seem to keep their hands off of him."

Shinichi's mind wandered to this image and blood poured from his nose. "And I wouldn't like this situation why?"

Aijou grabbed Shinichi's soda , shook it, and sprayed it all over the boy, completely soaking his blue-jeans and an orange sleeveless shirt. "Get your mind out of the gutter and go take a cold shower!"

Shinichi glared at Aijou, just before a mischievous grin crept across his face. "Now you've done it." He stood and began to move closer to Aijou.

Aijou, realizing what Shinichi planned to do, started to run. "Don't you dare touch me! This is a brand new shirt! And the skirt is leather! I don't want any soda stains on either of them!"

Shinichi over took her with ease and bear hugged the older girl. "Gotcha."

"Get off of me!" Aijou struggled to get free and tripped over Shinichi's feet.

Realizing they were falling toward a hard landing, Shinichi turned to try and spare Aijou some pain.

Aijou looked down at the current situation and right into a pair of emerald green eyes. She blushed deeply as she saw that she was straddling Shinichi at the waist. "Get off…" She leaned in closer to Shinichi.

Shinichi also blushed and swallowed hard. "Y-you're the one on top…" Without conscious volition, he found himself moving up toward Aijou.

"_Baka_." Aijou protested weakly.

"_Ahou_." Shinichi retorted.

"_Onii-chan_!" Mai sing-songed as the door slid open. Her face went pale as she view the scene. "_Ano, ano, ano, ano…"_

"Aijou, we were going to head to the mall and kill some time…" Kam stopped dead as he saw Shinichi. He ran over and kicked the tan boy in the head, sending Shinichi flying out an open window. "Stop trying to seduce my sister! _Hentai_!" Kam turned a disappointed look on Aijou. "And you! What the hell was that!?"

Aijou stood and rummaged through her closet for a new outfit. She then turned her meanest look on her little brother. "Shut up, and get out."

Kam knew not to press his luck and high-tailed it out of the room, dragging the still shock stricken Mai with him.

Two stories below, Shinichi was fighting to have his head removed from the concrete sidewalk. After a few more minutes of struggles he managed to sit down next to the hole. He glared at the three men in purple robes that were staring at him. "What do you want?" He stood as the three men scattered and headed back to the apartments. "Going to kill a shrimp, going to kill a shrimp." He sang menacingly. He paused and pulled at his clothing. "After a quick bath though."

The first man in the purple robe stepped forward as Shinichi walked away. "The darkness hides the light."

"The first dawn is delayed in it's rise." Replied the second.

The third nodded in agreement. "The dawn mayhap will never come, and it is quite dark already."

The three men nodded as one and vanished into the mist. "Such is the way of the warrior."

ooooo

"I don't see why we had to come and baby-sit you at the mall." Aijou complained as she adjusted her hair, now dyed black, behind her ear. "You two are old enough to handle the trip on your own." She readjusted her jean jacket so that it fell loosely around her shoulders to reveal her black spaghetti strap shirt and hung down to her black jeans. Her ensemble was completed with her favorite black leather and metal buckle boots.

Kam, dressed in a pair of khakis and an un-tucked buttoned shirt, turned around. His wind breaker jacket making a rustling sound as the parachute-like fabric crinkled. "You." He pointed an accusing finger at Aijou. "Are not the one 'baby-sitting' us. We're watching you two to make sure that you don't get all touchy-feely while no one else is home."

"May I point out that she had me pinned to the ground?" Shinichi professed. Unlike the others he wore no jacket opting for a pair of blue jeans, a red sleeveless shirt, and green running shoes instead. "I'm completely innocent of these accusations."

"Shut up!" Aijou yelled at him. "You were the one who grabbed me in the first place!"

Mai wore the same outfit as before with the addition of her fall coat that had a fake-fur fuzzy interior and off white exterior and blue sneakers. She looked like she was going to go into shock again. "Is that true _onii-chan_?"

"Well, sort of…" Shinichi began. He turned toward Aijou. "But that only happened because you sprayed all that soda on me!"

"That was because you were being a pervert!" Aijou shot back as she took a fighting stance.

"You were the one talking about the orgies your classmates have with their underage teachers at school!" Shinichi brought his hands up in a defensive stance to prepare for Aijou's attack.

"I was not!" Aijou defended as she saw Kam staring at her wide-eyed.

"Hey! Somebody stop her!"

Shinichi turned and saw a girl with short brown and gold hair running away from a store clerk. "Huh?"

"Stop her!" Yelled the store clerk again. "She's a thief."

Shinichi pushed Mai towards Kam. "You better live up to your name Kam." He pushed Aijou out of the way too, and turned to face the on coming girl.

She was a bit taller then he was. Her eyes were narrow to the point of being closed and her left incisor seemed to protruded ever so slightly. Her hair was streaked and messily cut and. When coupled with the odd tooth, gave her a wild and animalistic look. Her choice of ripped up blue jeans and trashed sneakers, green tee-shirt and a shiny, new looking black leather jacket only accented this image.

Shinichi waited until she was just past him and grabbed the collar of her coat. "This hasn't been paid for."

The girl lifted her leg up over her head and kicked Shinichi in the face. She turned an blew the fallen boy a kiss. "Sorry little man, better luck next time." She turned and began running again before stopping a few feet later. "Hey!"

Shinichi, still on his back, held up the leather jacket with the security tag still on it. "The mall cops are on the way. How bad do you want it?"

The girl looked around quickly and cursed loudly. She spat in Shinichi's direction. "I won't forget this. This is not over." She turned and began to run, kneeing a guard in the stomach along the way.

"Are you ok _onii-chan_?" Mai asked nervously.

Shinichi flipped to his feet and tossed the jacket to the shop keeper. "I just wanted to get the jacket back." He ground his teeth. "But she had to go and make it personal." He patted Mai on the head. "Stay with Aijou and Kam, ok?" He turned to the two Urashima's. "Meet you guys at home."

Aijou raised a hand to stop him, but he ran off with surprising speed.

Kam blinked. "He must have gone real slow for my benefit this morning." He scratched his head. "Maybe I should rethink the training."

Mai began to pull away from Aijou. "_Onii-chan_!"

Aijou grabbed the smaller girl. She smiled as the little girl frowned at her. "Relax, I'm not going to stop you. I just don't want you going alone."

Mai smiled and began to run again.

Aijou ran up closed behind the young girl.

Kam shook his head and groaned. "I'm surrounded by _baka_." He sprinted after the two girls, but found he was still exhausted from this mornings activities. "Hey! Wait for me!"

ooooo

Shinichi trailed the shoplifter for a few blocks, he allowed her to see him every few moments so as to keep her running. "Make me look like a chump will you? I don't think so." He muttered as he used a near by shop awning to springboard up to the roof. He continued to watch the wild-haired girl as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop, never letting her out of his sight. After a few more moments they came to less crowded area of the city. "Now you're mine."

The woman stepped back as in surprise as Shinichi landed a few feet in front of her, blocking her path. "You!" She smiled. "Just as well, saves me the trouble of finding you again to give you another beating."

"I could have dealt with just the kick." Shinichi rubbed his forehead where he had been kicked. "But no one spits at me. You're just lucky I don't fight in front of other people, it'll spare you some humiliation."

The shop lifter grinned, her large incisor sticking out slightly over her lower lip. "We'll see." She charged and struck with and open palm, knife-edge thrust.

Shinichi leapt and flipped so that he landed with a hand stand on her wrist. He smiled at her shocked expression. He bent his feet over his back and grasped her head between his ankles while he simultaneously released her hand. Using that momentum he rotated forward and let gravity pull him toward the ground behind the girl. As he fell, he pulled his legs and threw the girl toward the adjacent building before settling back on his feet again. "It's over."

She flipped through the air and placed her feet against the wall that Shinichi had intended to throw her into and sprang back toward the blue-haired boy. "Not bad." Her hand glowed with yellow, crackling energy. "But nowhere nearly enough to beat me little boy!"

Shinichi grunted as her fist hit his chest, and jolts of electricity coursed through his system. "I see…" He grit his teeth and grabbed her wrist. "You have…a few tricks yourself."

The girl's eyes went wide as Shinichi held her in place. "You should be down!" She poured more electricity into her attack. "Fall! Damn you!"

Shinichi continued to hold her until he felt her power begin to ebb and then threw her to the ground. "Is that it?" He brought his fist down into the sidewalk beside the girl, shattering it and scaring the girl witless. "Don't tell me that's all the _ki_ you can muster. I'm just getting warmed up here." He kicked toward the fallen girl, intending to finish the fight.

She leaned back out of instinct and moved just far enough out of his strike distance to avoid the blow. She grabbed his foot and pushed, toppling him to the ground as well. By the time she had reached her feet, her opponent was already waiting. She swore silently under her breath.

Shinichi grinned. "Done already?"

The girl attacked wildly now, throwing a furious flurry of punches and kicks. With every strike she further exhausted herself. To her dismay, Shinichi avoided every blow. Angered by this, she put all her remaining power into one final punch. She gasped as he recoiled from the strike to the face. Suddenly, chills ran down her spine. She had sensed something changing in the boy all through the fight, but had thought nothing of it. This feeling could no longer be ignored.

Shinichi's head slowly straightened up again to focus on the girl. His eyes seemed to be consumed with darkness that absorbed and trapped all the light that entered them. He smiled cruelly as he saw the girl's startled expression just before she ran. With even greater speed than before, Shinichi attacked her from behind and sent her screaming across the street and into an ally where she crashing into a pile of trash. He walked over calmly to where the girl struggled to get up. _Ki_ as dark as his eyes began to gather around his fists as he grabbed her shirt with one hand and raised the other for the finishing punch. "If you want the coroner to be able to identify your body girl, I suggest you tell me your name."

The girl struggled to get free. But her blows didn't seem to affect him at all. "You better remember my name for when I come back to haunt you. It's…"

End Chapter Two

Wraiths: Seductive is the dark side of the force.

Rider: (rolls eyes) That was the worst Yoda I've ever heard.

Wraiths: Bite me. (eyes go big and round) Um, dude?

Rider: This is going to hurt, isn't it? (turns around slowly) Hi Star…

Star: (holding a large table over her head) No make Shinichi evil! (slams table down)

Wraiths: (blinks at the twitching limbs under the table) I think you may have over done it this time Star. (Glances at the readers) Um, ok, bye then. See you next time. Leave a review and stuff. (Leaves the area)

Star: (pokes Rider with a stick) Maybe I did go to far? Nah. (gets up and walks away)

Rider: Medic!


	3. Another Comes Home

Rider: _Konichiwa Minna-san_. I hope everyone is having/had (depending on when your reading this) a wonderful turkey day.

Wraiths: (drooling over the amount of food still being made) Mmmmm…Turkey…

Rider: (punts Wraiths out of the kitchen) Anyway, I'm glad the people that have stuck around are still enjoying the story. (pauses as an explosion of flour fills the room) The hell?

Star: Sorry! The bag wouldn't open!

Rider: (shrugs) Whatever, I'm already covered in turkey giblets anyway. (Punts Wraiths again) Out! Stop eating the stuffing! I haven't even cooked it yet! (sighs) Ok, let me address some things so you can get back to the story and I can get back to cooking dinner.

To Hanku Royiaki, Aijou's fascination with the Goth stuff will be explained in depth in a future chapter, but you will get a little hint here. And thank you in the support against Star.

To DarkHeart of Ice, You're sort of on the right track with Shinobu's last name, but I don't want to give to much away yet, and will explain in a future chapter.

To KylaranAeldin, thanks for the support!

To Watanuki, sure I'll add a small bio section at the end of the chapter whenever a new character is fully introduced. Check the end here (after reading or you'll see the character that hasn't been fully nitro's yet!) for all the characters so far.

To tainted-gump, if you're still reading, sorry that you felt the story was crap. But I intend to continue this as there are some people who still like it. As for the line between story and fan fiction…umm…is there such a line? People, myself included, are taking a piece of work that is not their own and expanding upon it, making them different stories with similar tie ins to older stories. It's kind of like a spin-off series. Anyway, sorry for the tangent here, I'm just confused by your argument.

Star: Kyaaa! The oil caught on fire!

Rider: That's it! Everybody out! I'll fix dinner myself! (turns to readers) Enjoy everyone. Both the story and the holiday. (punts Wraiths yet again) Leave the damn stuffing alone!

ooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter Three: Another Comes Home

Kam panted as he attempted to keep up with the girls. "How…can…he…run…so…fast?"

Aijou shot a disapproving look over her shoulder at the boy. "He's not that fast. You're just that far out of shape."

"Shut…up…" Kam continued to run as he held his side to keep the growing cramp at bay.

Mai stopped and looked around the crowded city street. "They came through here, but…" She shook her head. "I can't find him now."

Aijou looked around, and cupped her hands around her mouth. "Hey! Anyone see a crazy looking girl being chased by a guy with blue hair?" She watched as most people shook their heads in the negative, but a couple pointed down the street. With a quick thank you, she began running again.

"Hey! Can't we rest a moment?" Kam pleaded.

Mai turned and smiled at Kam. "You can stay and rest if you like. Aijou and I will be fine by ourselves."

"I can't bail out now." Kam thought silently. With a pained sigh, he continued to run. "If she can stand this, I have to be able to as well. I'm not going to be shown up by a girl."

Together the three youths rounded the corner just in time to see the girl they had been chasing go flying across the street and into an adjacent ally. A moment later Shinichi appeared and followed after the girl.

"Shinichi!" Aijou called out to the boy, but received no response of any kind.

Kam placed his hands on his knees and attempted to catch his breath. "He's back to being a jerk I see."

Aijou shook her head. "I don't think that's it."

Mai ran forward, nervously muttering something to herself that the other two people couldn't hear, and entered into the ally.

"You better remember my name for when I come to haunt you." The girl gave one last kick to Shinichi's ribs. "It's Ashura Inari."

"Inari?" Aijou gasped. She raced to Shinichi's side and grasped his outstretched arm. "Let her go Shin!" She pleaded using the old nickname. "Let her go right now!"

Mai placed herself between the girl called Inari and her brother. "Please don't do this _onii-chan_." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Please, not again."

The darkness in his eyes slowly dissipated and was replaced with the familiar green. He staggered backwards as though he had be roughly hit. "Mai-chan? What's going…"

Kam took this moment of uncertainly and launched himself as a human projectile to tackle the taller boy to the ground. "I don't know what's come over you, but it has to stop."

Shinichi looked around, still in a daze. "Someone please explain what the hell is going on."

Aijou shook her head. "That's what I want to know." She looked around as people began to gather around the ally entrance. "We better discuss this back at home though." They started to run out the opposite end of the ally when she stopped. "Hey! Come on!"

Inari glared at her. "Why should I go with you? Your boyfriend over there just tried to kill me."

"He is not my boyfriend!" Aijou yelled.

"I am not her boyfriend!" Shinichi screamed.

Aijou glared at the boy and walloped him into the wall. "You jerk! You'd be lucky to have a girlfriend like me!"

Inari blinked. "Well, I'll just leave you freaks to your devices then." She turned away.

"Wait!" Aijou yelled again. "You should come home with us."

Inari looked over her shoulder. "Again, why?"

Aijou looked crest fallen for a moment. "Don't you remember me Inari? We used to live at the Hinata-sou together before you moved."

"There's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Inari studied the girl for a moment. "Aijou?"

Aijou smiled and went to hug her friend in greeting, only to be shoved back harshly. "Cops are on the way. We should get moving." She leapt and grabbed hold of the fire ladder above her before swinging up to the landing. "I'll meet you later."

Aijou was a bit sad to see her friend leave so suddenly, but there were other items to be handled right now. "Come on guys." She turned and lead the way down the ally once more. "_Kuso_." She doubled back and grabbed a handful of Shinichi's hair and pulled his twitching body none-to-gently from were it was stuck in the brick wall. "You too _baka_."

"Hurry up!" Kam yelled as the sound of sirens was heard in the distance.

Aijou easily passed the smaller boy, even with her extra burden from carrying Shinichi. "Just try to keep up _bozu_."

Mai came up along side her brother and studied his face nervously. She swallowed and keep running.

ooooo

The five reassembled members of the Hinata-sou sat in the living room watching one another. Not much was said, if you could even count the nervous coughs that Mai or Kam occasionally made.

At last the silence was broken as Inari stood and slammed her hand on the table. She leaned over the table to get as close as possible to Shinichi. "What is your issue anyway? Why'd you attack me without reason?"

"My issue?! Without reason?!" Shinichi stood and got right in Inari's face. "All I tried to do was stop you from stealing the jacket you stupid klepto! You were the one who attacked me and then insulted me!"

"That jacket was mine!" Inari made a fist and shook it threateningly at Shinichi. "You had no right to interfere!"

"Well that tag on the jacket says that it wasn't yours!" Shinichi responded through clenched teeth as he raised his hands in preparation to fight.

"You two want to go make out now?" Aijou asked with sarcastic annoyance.

Shinichi and Inari both turned to the elder Urashima with horrified looks on their faces. "_Nani_?!"

Aijou smiled devilishly. "Thought that would get your attention. Now, sit!" Grudgingly, the two antagonizes sat down in their respective seats again.

Kam laughed at the sight. "She just pulled a Kagome on you…"

"Shut up Kam." Aijou ordered.

Instantly the boy fell silent. He glared at Shinichi and Inari as they smirked at him.

Mai stood and ran from the room. "I'll make some tea to help everyone calm down."

"_Arigatto_ Mai-chan." Aijou called after her. She looked back over her two friends. "What's done is done. Just shake and make up already." She frowned deeply as neither party moved. "Now damn it!"

Both people jumped at the intensity of the demand. After a moment they extended their hands to shake.

"Ass." Inari hissed.

"Klepto." Shinichi whispered.

Kam blinked at the continued hostility. "Damn…" He squeaked as they both glared at him.

Aijou smiled, seeming not to care how fragile the truce was as long as it was there. "It's been a long time Inari. How have you been?"

Inari shrugged.

Aijou swallowed. She hadn't remembered Inari being this distant before. "Oh. How are Auntie Mitsune and Uncle Saburo?"

"Fine." Was all that Inari would respond with.

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Oh this is going so well."

"Shut up ass." Inari spat.

"Make me." Shinichi taunted.

Everyone jumped as Mai set the tray of tea down on the center table, loudly. "We didn't have any green tea, but I found some western style tea bags in the back cabinet. I hope you all don't mind."

"It's fine sis." Shinichi took the glasses one by one and passed them around. At last he came to Inari.

She looked between the glass and Shinichi, and pulled away. "I don't want any."

Shinichi set the glass down in front of her on the table. "You really should drink it. You used a lot of electricity before, it drains your electrolytes. You need to replenish them or you'll make yourself sick."

"Don't tell me what I need to do." Inari turned in her chair so that her back was to Shinichi. "No one tells me what to do."

Shinichi's temple throbbed. "It was just a suggestion…" He paused as he saw the other three people at the table looking at him expectantly. "Inari-_san_." When he got no response of any kind, he finished his own tea in one gulp and stood. "I'm sorry if you got hurt before, but don't expect me to apologize for stopping you from stealing that jacket." He then turned and left the room.

"_Onii-chan_." Mai set her cup down and followed after her brother. "_Onii-chan_! Wait!"

Kam looked between the two young women. "I think I still have some homework to do." He finished his tea and excused himself.

The two girls sat passing examining glances at each other in silence for a time which seemed to stretch on interminably.

"You've sure changed your style." Inari finally commented, pointing to Aijou's predominantly black, leather outfit. "You used to be more the sundress and kimono type if I recall."

Aijou smiled as her old friend began to open up a little bit. "Yeah, I guess I have changed a bit…" She paused. "But you, you seem as rough and tumble as ever."

Inari nodded slightly. "Yeah, it's served me well, the look I mean." She looked away from her friend a moment. "It was good to see you again."

"Was?" Aijou sat up slightly. "You're not leaving so suddenly are you?"

Inari stood. "Yeah, I have to go." She gently squeezed Aijou's shoulder. "See you 'round."

Aijou jumped to her feet. "Why do you have to go? Why don't you stay here?"

Inari stopped at the door, she smiled slightly. "It sounds nice, but I can't. To much has changed." She left through the open door before Aijou had a chance to say anything more.

Aijou fell back into her seat. "Too much has changed? What does that mean?"

ooooo

As she left the Hinata-sou Inari was stopped as three elderly men in purple robes walked across her path.

"Trust must be given to be received." Stated the first.

The second man nodded in agreement. "But one who travels with wolves and foxes can never trust anyone."

"Indeed." Stated the third man. "Trust is truly a gift of the goddess."

The three men stopped and turned to face Inari just before they vanished into the mists. "Heavy is the heart that walks alone. Such is not the way of the warrior."

Inari glared at the now vacant mists, and stormed off.

ooooo

Kam left the living room and took a quick look over his shoulder at the two girls sat in silence. He sighed, something bothered him about the way Inari was reacting to Shinichi. He slipped from the back door of the Hinata-sou and quickly, but quietly, made his way around the old dorm and to the street below.

He boarded the bus and rode down to the downtown district and stepped off into the mall. He passed through the shops and maneuvered through the crowds with little effort. Occasionally, he stopped and talked with the people in the stores. He made sure to target the people in one store in particular, spending most of his time there. After talking to every customer and salesperson he left the store and returned home.

---

Shinichi stared at the mirror and growled at the burn marks on his chest. "Stupid girl." He brought his hands up to his chest and forced his _ki_ through them into his chest. He grunted as the wounds began to heal and closed up at agonizingly slow speeds. When he removed his hands from the treated area he could not even see the remnants of the injuries. He didn't turn as he heard the door to his room open and close quickly.

Mai sat down beside him and placed the first aid kit on the floor. "You said you would wait to let me treat your injuries."

"I can heal myself faster like this." Shinichi slowly pulled his shirt over his head. "Besides, I don't want to bother you with it."

Mai hung her head. "It's no bother, really." She looked up at the expression on her brother's face and shivered.

Shinichi turned away. "Why don't you go downstairs and talk with the girls for a while?"

Mai scooted around so she could face him again. "They'll still be there later." She paused and her voice fell a little bit. "I want to make sure that you will still be here later too though."

Shinichi looked down at the ground for a few minutes before speaking. "Does mom know you're here?"

Mai shook her head. "I ran after you so quickly I didn't have a chance to tell her."

Shinichi sighed. "She must be worried sick about you. I'll call her tonight before I head out again."

Mai grabbed her brother's hand and held it firmly. "No! You can't leave again!"

Shinichi pulled away. "I don't have a choice Mai. I can't control myself when I get like that. I have to find Kokuei-sensei and finish my training or I'll always be a danger to everyone around me."

"You stopped when you saw me though." Mai whispered. "Are you going to hurt me someday too?"

"I hope not." Shinichi sighed. "But I don't want to take the chance." He stopped as he saw his sister pull a small, white ribbon from her pocket. "_Nani_?"

The little girl took the ribbon and tied it around Shinichi's right bicep. "I want you to promise me that you won't take this ribbon off and as long as you wear it you won't loose your temper like that."

"Mai…" Shinichi protested.

"Promise!" The girl yelled.

Shinichi nodded, accepting his defeat. "Ok."

"And promise you won't leave." Mai added.

Shinichi nodded again. He turned as the door opened. "What's up Kam?"

Kam turned to see that Mai was also present, and then back to Shinichi. "You have a moment?"

Shinichi nodded. He smiled to Mai. "Go enjoy your tea with the girls, ok?"

Mai stood and pushed her brother playfully. "Don't treat me like I'm a little kid."

"You are a little kid." He teased back. His smile faded as the door shut. "Something wrong?" Shinichi asked.

Kam nodded and forced open a secret passage beneath the floor of Shinichi's room. "Yeah, I think there is. Come on, I'll explain on the way."

Shinichi grimaced as he climbed down into the crawlspace. "Mai is going to kill me later."

"Why?" Kam asked.

Shinichi shook his head. "Just go." A few moments later they exited the passage just around the corner from the front door. As he snuck past, Shinichi peered in through the window and saw Aijou sitting alone in the living room. "Has she been there since Inari left?" He shook his head and jogged down the steps to catch up to Kam. "Stupid girl."

ooooo

Inari looked around cautiously and squeezed through the bent chain link fence. She crossed the empty lot quickly and entered the abandoned warehouse that stood at the edge of Hinata City's industrial district. She took a quick survey of the interior.

A few of the other denizens looked over her way, but she was for the most part ignored. There were a few new faces that she didn't recognize, and she made a mental note to speak with those people later. In contrast, some of the faces she had hoped to see were no longer there. She'd have to inquire about that later as well.

She made her way though the milling crowd of people until she reached the back wall. She lightly kicked the foot of someone asleep atop a few piles of paper. "You're in my spot." Was all she said when the man glared at her. He moved a moment later though without complaint, allowing Inari to lay down. "Feel so tired. Damn that brat." She rolled over to face the wall and pulled an old cloth over her as a blanket as she drifted off to sleep. At least, that had been the idea.

"Hey, Inari-kun." Called an all to familiar voice.

She rolled over and sat up, locking an annoyed glare on the man. "What the hell do you want now Okubo?"

The man attempted to grin at her, but it came off as more of a lop-sided sneer. He slicked back his dark brown hair and focused his beady eyes on the girl. "You know exactly why I'm here."

Inari shook her head. It never ceased to amaze her how rat-like this creep was. "That time of the month already? Fine, I'll have my rent fee for you tonight." She turned over and yawned. "But first, a nap."

"You dare turn your back on me?!" Okubo shrieked as he grabbed a handful of her hair. "Just for that, you must pay up now."

Inari jerked at the pull of her hair and her arm reacted out of instinct. She stood and faced her fallen attack her. "Don't ever touch me again."

Okubo stood and rubbed his nose. "That hurt." He pulled a small blade from his pocket. "You're going to pay for that."

Inari dodged the first thrust and countered with another punch to the nose. She frowned as Okubo recoiled. "That should have broken his nose." She thought worriedly. "I must still be tired from my fight before."

Okubo stood and attacked again.

Inari dodged again, but just barely as her shirt sleeve ripped under the short dagger's sharp edge. She let loose a forward kick, only to have Okubo block it and throw her to the ground. Shocked from being overthrown by her opponent she could not mount a defense in time as Okubo's knife descended toward her. She closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come. He eyes opened wide as she heard the clang of metal on bone, and looked up to see a toaster was stuck to Okubo's face.

She traced the path of the flying appliance and found Kam standing up from a baseball pitching position. Behind him, Shinichi was trying to placate the grizzled hobo who was complaining about his toaster being stolen from his shopping cart.

Kam ran over to the fallen girl and helped her stand. "Are you ok?"

Inari roughly shook off his hand. "I didn't need your help."

Kam blinked, and made a face to convey his annoyance. "Yeah, you're welcome too."

Shinichi ran past them and recovered the toaster from Okubo's face. He then gave the hobo back his possession. "Here, here. Now leave me alone." He joined up with his two friends a moment later. "Nice shot Kam." He turned as Okubo stood with a groan.

"Going…going to…kill someone." Okubo looked around and tried to focus his sight. "Who…"

Kam stepped forward, despite Shinichi's attempt to stop him.

Okubo sneered. "The little boy's trying to be a hero? This ain't a manga kid, the hero doesn't always win in real life."

"Kam!" Inari called as she saw Okubo begin to run forward.

Shinichi also saw the movement, and attempted to remove Kam from harm's way. He failed.

Kam ignored his two friends and easily side-stepped the short blade. He then grabbed Okubo's wrist with one hand and placed his other hand at Okubo's elbow and pushed.

Inari blinked as she heard Okubo scream.

Shinichi stared at Kam's effortless counter attack.

Kam locked his eyes on to Okubo's. "You won't be bothering Inari, or anyone else, anymore. Right?"

Okubo struggled to get free and only succeeded in hurting himself more. "Fine, fine! Just let go!"

Kam released him and watched as the little vermin scampered away with his tail between his legs. He turned around and stared at his friends' shocked faces. "_Nani_?"

Shinichi grinned and wrapped his arm around Kam's neck. "You're a sly one aren't you? I thought you didn't know how to fight."

Kam blinked. "I don't…"

Inari sat down on her pile of papers. "Then what was that?"

Kam shrugged. "I simply calculated his speed and used his leverage against him."

Shinichi shook his head as he released his friend. "Yeah, that's called a counterattack."

Kam scratched his head. "Really? Who knew?"

"Anyway." Inari interrupted. "What are you two doing here?"

Shinichi turned and looked around the warehouse full of people. "I could ask you the same thing." He picked something up off the floor and tossed it to Inari. "Here."

Inari caught the bag that had been hidden behind the boy's leg. "What's this?" She opened the bag and saw the leather jacket she had tried to take before. "What's the…" She stopped as she saw Shinichi walking away. She turned to Kam. "What's the deal?"

Kam shook his head as he watched Shinichi. "_Baka_." He sat down beside Inari. "He's to proud. I think that was the best he could do for an apology."

Inari blinked. "Apology?"

Kam nodded. "After I left you and Aijou to talk I went down to the mall again and asked around. I found out you were working at that store you stole from. The other sales girls told me how you were working off the books because you didn't have a permanent address necessary for a paycheck."

Inari, although a little shocked at Kam's resourcefulness, nodded to confirm his statement. "Yeah, then the SOB owner said he wasn't going to pay me."

"So you took the jacket." Kam continued. "Which was almost the same price as what you where owed."

"So what? Shinichi bought the jacket?" Inari looked down at the jacket puzzled.

Kam laughed nervously. "Not exactly…I kind of brought Shinichi back to the store because he does the intimidation thing a lot better then I do. He got the jacket…" He pulled out the jacket and reached into the pocket. "And your pay."

Inari looked up and saw Shinichi leaving the building. "Why did he do all this? I was…kind of a…"

Kam nodded. "Yeah, but so was he. Like I said, he's not going to apologize outright."

Inari frowned. "And you?"

Kam shrugged and stood. "You're family. Got to look out for you guys, right?" He extended his hand to the older girl.

Inari looked away from his hand.

Kam sighed, exasperated. "Oh come on already. You can't tell me you're happy living here." He motioned to the cramped and dirty quarters, and extended his hand again. "Come home, everyone misses you. Especially _onee-chan_."

"I don't thing Shin…" Inari stopped as she saw Shinichi looking back through the crack in the front door before he pulled away quickly. She smiled. "Ass." She whispered

Kam blinked. "Huh?"

Inari took Kam's hand and pulled herself to her feet. "I don't know how I'm going to come with rent money."

Kam blinked, then smiled. "Don't worry. Just help out with the chores a bit and we'll call it even."

Inari made a disappointed face. "Do I have to clean the bath? That thing is huge."

Kam smiled. "Nah, we'll have Shinichi do it."

Behind the door, Shinichi sneezed. He looked around for suspicious activity. "Somebody is talking about me." He looked back a moment and saw that Inari and Kam were heading towards the door. He ran off so it appeared as though he had been walking the whole time. "No need to let them know I was concerned."

Kam pushed open the door and saw Shinichi walking calmly down the street. "He didn't even wait for me, that jerk."

Inari, now wearing her new jacket, pushed forward. "Then let's just catch up and kick his butt for leaving us behind."

Kam turned and smiled to her. "I like your way of thinking." Together, Kam and Inari ran down the street.

ooooo

Aijou sat in the living room watching television with Mai. The sitcom ended and the news headlines began to come on, but Aijou wasn't really paying attention. Her mind was on Inari's parting words, wondering about the meaning behind them. She looked up as she heard the front door open. "Who's there?"

Kam walked in and waved. "Hey, we're back."

Mai stood and bowed. "Welcome home. I didn't know that you left."

Kam nodded. "Yeah, just for a little while. We had some stuff to do."

"We?" Aijou asked confused.

Shinichi limped through the room and toward the stairs. "I'm going to go lay down for a little while."

Aijou blinked. "What happened to him?"

"He lost the rematch." Inari came around the corner and leaned against the doorframe.

Aijou's eyes went wide. "You came back?"

Inari shrugged. "What can I say? Your brother is persuasive." She looked up and smiled at Aijou. "You got an extra room I could use?"

Aijou smiled and hugged her friend. "Of course." She quickly pushed Inari away again. "_Ano_, Inari?"

Inari made her way toward the bath. "Yeah, I know."

Aijou turned to Kam. "Where did you find her?"

Kam shrugged. "Just around town."

"This is wonderful." Mai turned and headed for the kitchen. "I'll make something special for dinner to celebrate the arrival of another friend."

Aijou smiled. "I'm going to go take bath with Inari."

"I'll give you a hand with dinner." Kam offered to Mai. "Just let me turn off the TV." He crossed the room to the television, only half listening.

"Tokyo police are still investigating the incident in which a man in a coma for over a decade suddenly went missing last year." The TV announcer stated. "They have assigned a new detective from Kyoto in the hopes of finding a new lead to solve the case. In other news, tremors rocked the cost of India earlier to day. In the confusion, a Princess went missing from the kingdom of…"

Kam clicked the screen off. "How depressing the world is that the news is always so bad."

"Kamali?" Mai called. "Can you help me get the salt? I can't quite reach it."

"Coming." Kam called back. He stopped as he heard crash at the front door. He peered around the bend to see a girl standing atop the splinted door. "Uh, can I help you?"

The girl turned, causing her long silvery hair to whip about her head. Her purple eyes lit up as she saw the young boy. Her tan skin made the smile of her white teeth look even brighter. She squealed as she saw the small boy. "Shinichi! You are here!" She ran over and glomped Kam to the floor.

Kam blinked. A moment later his eyes when wide as he felt the girl's ample chest press against his own. He pushed her way before he lost it. "Ok, one, I'm not Shinichi. Two, who are you?"

This girl blinked her large, green eyes. "Me? Why I'm…"

End Chapter Three

Wraiths: (drooling as he stares at the table) It all looks so good…

Rider: (shakes his head) _Baka_.

Wraiths: I don't even care what you say. Can I eat now?

Star: We've got to wait for the other guests! (door bell rings) Oh, there they are now.

Wraiths: (lunges for a turkey leg) Mine!

Rider: (stomps Wraiths into the ground, turns to readers) Ok, you guys know the routine. Please tell me what you think of the story so far, be it good, bad, or otherwise. Till the next, live well. (looks down at Wraiths) Will you behave if I let you up?

Wraiths: Yes…

Star: (returns from the front door with the guests, and sees the footprint on Wraiths head) The turkey again? (shakes her head) Ok, on three.

Rider, Wraiths, and Star: Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Guest one: Who are you guys talking to?

The trio: (sweat drops) Never mind that! Dig in!

ooooo

Bios (in order of appearance)

Name: Urashima Aijou,

Age: 17, oldest child of Keitaro and Naru

Quick Facts: She has a temper that rivals, possibly surpasses, that of her mother's. She uses it quite often to "convince" others of her point of view. Her favorite phrases are "shut up" and "_Baka_."

Name: Urashima Kamali (Kam)

Age: 13.5, youngest child of Keitaro and Naru

Quick facts: More reserved than his out going sister, but he can develop just as bad a temper when he thinks someone is doing something inappropriate. Very protective of the people he cares about, and like his father will do almost anything to try and help others.

Name: Maehara Shinichi

Age 12.5, the oldest child of Shinobu and Kenji (Ken)

Quick facts: A talented fighter in his own natural ability, but unable to control himself when extremely angry or injured, almost as though he is possessed. He seeks his sensei to try to learn to control himself. He ran away from home for unknown reasons.

Name: Maehara Mai

Age: 10, youngest child of Shinobu and Kenji (Ken)

Quick Facts: Like her mother, she is an amazing cook. She is always concerned with others well being, to the point that she often feels its her fault if someone is unhappy. This causes her to go out of her way to try and please everyone. She ran away from home to follow her brother, Shinichi, and seems to know why he left in the first place.

Name: Ashura Inari

Age: 16, only child of Mitsune (Kitsune) and Saburo

Quick Facts: Also a talented fighter, she seems to have inherited her fathers ability to control the natural forces of electricity. Head strong and unwilling to compromise, she often buts heads with the other residents, especially Shinichi, and only opens up to Aijou initially. She has been living amongst the homeless of Hinata City for unknown reasons.


	4. Moonlight Concert

Rider: _Konbawa Minna-san_. Sorry about the delay, computer troubles and all. But I have the next chapter ready for you.

Star: What's up with the review page, it's all screwy?

Wraiths: And where are all the reviews alerts in your mailbox?

Rider: Don't know, but all you guys who reviewed, if you asked a question, could you ask it again? I know there was one or two, but my mail box was one of the programs that got hit and I don't have the reviews in there anymore. I do remember that most people asked about Su's daughter coming home, and all I can say is…sorry, you're all wrong.

Star: What!?

Rider: Read on and see. Catch you all at the end. Wait a sec…What the hell were you doing in my mailbox? Wraiths?!

Wraiths: Gotta go…

ooooo

Disclaimer: Forgot this before, oops...I don't own Love Hina in any way, shape, or form. Original stuff is mine though, please don't steal. I also don't own the music for Loving Season or Watashi wo Kaiten Daro (Ouka's theme) from the .hack LOT series which are used later. Everyone happy now? 

Change Of Hearts

Chapter Four: Moonlight Concert

Mai had just donned her cooking apron when she heard the crash at the front door. She walked through the dinning room and into the main foyer just in time to see Kam push away from the very pretty girl who was laying on top of him. She noticed Kam's face was quite flushed, and swallowed hard as she realized that the girls revealing yellow dress with a low cut chest, open stomach, and slits up the length of the legs was the cause. She also noticed the loose decorative belt around the girl's thin waist. "Kamali? Is everything all right?"

The older girl turned as she heard the new voice, and squealed. "_Kawai_!" She bounded over toward Mai and began to examine her from every angle. "You're so cute! Are you one of Shinichi's little friends?"

Mai, startled by the girl's enthusiastic nature, pulled away protectively.

At this point Kam stepped between the two girls, acting as a shield for Mai. "Hey! I want to know who you are and what you're doing here." He demanded of the new girl.

The new girl completely ignored Kam's attempt at being threatening and grabbed him up in a hug, giggling all the while. "Oh Shinichi, stop pretending you don't know who I am."

Kam struggled to get free as his head was crushed into the much taller girl's breasts. "Can't…breath…"

"What's all the commotion about down here?" Shinichi made his way down the stairs, seemingly recovered from the injuries that had made him limp a moment ago.

Aijou, clad only in a towel and glasses, joined the group from the bath along with Inari. "What's going on?"

Mai looked around nervously. "I'm not sure but I think this girl is looking for _onii-chan_."

Inari turned, a look of mixed contempt and curiosity on her face. "This some girlfriend of yours Shinichi?"

Shinichi stared at her wide eyed. "How is it that things go from zero to my fault in two seconds?"

The tan girl looked up and, while still crushing the life out of Kam, pointed at Shinichi. "You're Shinichi?"

Shinichi nodded. "_Hai_."

The girl tossed Kam to the side and into the adjacent wall. She then leapt and tackled Shinichi to the ground. "Shinichi!"

Kam fell to the floor and took deep breaths. "Oh…sweet oxygen…" He stood and rubbed his head from where it had collided with the wall. "Not that I mind being out of that Amazon's death grip, but did I have to be discarded so violently?" He sweat dropped as he saw the girl still on the ground with Shinichi rubbing her cheek against his. "I guess so…"

Aijou was also watching the events on the floor and savagely kicked Shinichi in the head, sending him across the room. "What the hell are you doing?!"

The silver haired beauty cried out as her intended target was ripped from her grasp. "Hey!"

Inari raised an amused eyebrow. "You sure you two aren't a couple Aijou?" She merely laughed as Aijou glared at her.

Aijou was about to respond when she saw the girl rush across the room to Shinichi's side.

"Are you injured Shinichi?" The girl asked concerned. She smiled as Shinichi shook his head. "Good. Wait here while I deal with your attacker."

Aijou scoffed as the girl turned to her. "Oh my, I'm so scared of the _ganguro_." She fell silent as the scene unfolded.

The girl reached back behind her and pulled on something from her belt loops. When her hands came back to the foreground she held two very large and odd looking pistols. The girl sniffed the air. "Is that the scent of fear?" She gasped as Shinichi placed himself in the scopes.

"I thought you were just going to start a cat fight." Shinichi frowned and reached up to grab the guns, one in each hand, and forced them to point in directions that wouldn't endanger anyone. "Not pull hardware. I don't like people who threaten my friends."

The girl frowned a moment, and then smiled brightly as she pulled the triggers. She laughed like crazy as everyone, save Shinichi, dove for cover from the…

"Pop-gun flags?" Inari asked in disbelief. She ground her teeth, angry at being made a fool of. "Ok, she dies." She stood, not caring as her towel slipped a bit, and moved toward the prankster.

Shinichi held up a hand to stop Inari, then faced the new girl. "Enough games, who are you?"

The girl smiled and hugged Shinichi close. "You silly, it's me, Erika."

Shinichi blinked.

The room was silent as everyone attempted to recall this girl. It was Aijou who finally remembered her. "You're Aunt Su's niece! Erika Lu! You used to play with us all the time when you came to visit Aunt Su!"

Erika smiled and nodded. "_Hai_!"

"That's nice, but what's with the fascination with Shinichi?" Kam demanded.

"Yes, I would like to know too!" Mai seconded.

Erika smiled. "That's easy." She jumped up on Shinichi's back.

Shinichi was surprise at how light Erika was, and easily supported her. "And that is?"

Erika leaned forward over Shinichi's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "I came to take you home to Molmol." She smiled playfully. "And there we will be married and rule together."

People on the street turned their eyes on the Hinata-sou as an unimaginably loud "what?!" was heard.

Aijou crossed the gap between the two parties quickly and grabbed Shinichi by the ear, lifted him off his feet, and placed him roughly behind her before facing off against Erika. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

"Careful." Inari cautioned with a smirk. "You almost seem jealous."

"Bite me." Aijou replied without turning.

Erika seeming unaffected by the loss of her resting place dropped easily to her feet. "What's wrong? This was decided a long time ago."

Aijou, her eyes on fire, turned to Shinichi. "Is this true?"

Shinichi blinked. "You're kidding right?"

Aijou sighed in relief.

"I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning." Shinichi finished, causing everyone to face fault. His face fell as Aijou seemed to grow three stories taller over him. "Was that the wrong answer?" He laughed nervously.

Kam covered Mai's eyes with his hand. "Should have quit while ahead Shin."

On the street, the people looked up again as the evening silence was rent asunder by an inhuman wail of pain.

ooooo

Aijou sat back down in the bath and crossed her arms. "That stupid, pushy, insensitive, _baka_!"

Inari sank into the warm water diagonally across from Aijou. She let her head lean back and rest on the stone ledge around the edge of the bath. "You ok over there?"

Mai tiptoed into the water at the far edge of the pool. She looked around at the other girls and quickly sat down to hide her body under the water.

"Cannonball!" Erika took a running start from the changing room doors and scrambled to the top of one of the tall decorative stones in the bath. Without pausing, she stripped off her towel and flipped with a half-twist into the air. As she fell she pulled her legs in and wrapped her arms around her body and landed with a large splash into the water. When she surfaced again she was greeted by the unhappy looks of the three other resident's soaked faces. "Oops?"

Aijou sighed and sat back. "Could you not do that every again?"

Erika nodded. "Sure!"

Inari glared at the foreign princess. "I really don't like you."

Erika blinked. "Why not?"

"You're way to peppy." Inari replied.

"Peppery?" Erika asked uncertain.

"No…" Inari groaned. "Never mind. Just stop being so…" She stopped as Erika began splashing around in the water like a little kid. "Like that."

Erika stopped splashing around just long enough to make her way over to Inari and leaned in close to her face. "But why can't I act like this? It's fun." Her purple eyes were big, round, and innocent, honestly seeking an answer from Inari.

Inari stumbled over her words in search of an answer. "Because its annoying!" She finally answered and moved away, grumbling to herself. "I can deal with nasty looks and death glares no problem, but a stupid set of puppy dog eyes and I lose my focus. How very frustrating…"

Mai, during this time, had slowly made her way over to the group of girls. "Erika-san?" She called timidly.

Erika turned. "Not Erika-san, just Erika, no san."

"Oh, ok." Mai looked down into the water. "Was what you said true before? About taking _onii-chan_ away to marry him?" She face faulted as she saw Erika had pulled a book seemingly from thin air and was looking through it.

"_Onee_, _oni_, _onii-chan_…Oh! It means big brother!" Erika tossed the book away and turned to see the confused looks of the other girls. "_Nani_? I haven't spoken Japanese in a long time." She turned to the blonde girl. "Wow, you're Shinichi's little sister? I thought you were the dorm maid or something."

Mai looked down into the water again. "No…I'm…"

Erika dove under the water and swam over behind the smaller girl before grabbing her up in a big hug.

Mai screamed at the surprise move and struggled to get free. "Let go!"

Erika squeezed tighter. "I don't want to, you're so cute, and you're related to Shinichi."

"Please let me go!" Mai pulled harder, but wasn't strong enough to free herself.

Erika just giggled and continued to hold her.

"That's enough." Aijou moved over to try to try and help. "Let her go Erika."

Inari cracked her knuckles. "Or keep holding her and I'll be happy to assist you in letting her go."

Mai continued to pull away and finally managed to get free. As she pulled free one corner of her towel got stuck in Erika's grasp, and as a result Mai was stripped of her protective covering. In her mind, time seemed to stand still for the briefest moment before she ran off in tears.

The three young women blinked at the scene.

"What was that?" Inari asked.

Erika looked genuinely upset now. "I was just trying to play with her. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings."

Aijou stood and began to follow after the girl. "Whatever happened, we should go check on her." She stopped as the door to bath was literally blown off it's track.

In the doorway stood Shinichi, seething with anger. "Who's responsible!?" His anger seemed to intensify as he received no answer. "Who made Mai cry!?"

Erika stood. "I think it was me."

Shinichi stormed through the bath, heedless of the fact that the girls were barely covered, and locked his eyes on Erika's.

Erika swallowed hard. The look in Shinichi's eyes frightened her, his eyes were full of hurt and anger. His eyes seemed to be shifting of their own volition, as though there was a dark shadow moving around just under the white's of his eyes. She shrank back a bit as Shinichi raised his hand. She squinted her eyes and prepared for the hit she thought was coming. She opened her eyes when nothing happened. She looked over and saw that Shinichi was staring at a small ribbon that was hanging from his arm.

Shinichi turned after catching Erika's stare from the corner of his eye. He gave one final glare, but it lacked the venom it had had a moment before. He ground his teeth and turned away. Just as he reached where the door used to be, he stopped. "You ever make her cry again…" He punched a hole through the door jam. "It'll take a lot more than this ribbon and a promise to stop me." He left the room. "Dinner's ready, leave some for Mai."

"What about you?" Aijou called after him, but received no response.

Erika sank to her knees in the water and simply stared at the hole in the wall. "Shinichi-kun…"

Inari crossed her arms over her chest. "A ribbon and a promise? That's all it took to hold him back?" She rubbed her wrist where there was a small bruise forming. "Wish I had known that before."

"Before?" Erika looked questioningly.

Aijou nodded. "You must have a very good guardian spirit." She walked over and examined the damage to the dorm. "I'll let it go for now, but he's repairing this tomorrow." She began to sort through the rubble. "Now where the hell are my clothes?"

ooooo

Kam stood in the kitchen washing the dishes left over for dinner. "Why do I always get stuck with this job? It's not my fault I can't cook, that's no reason to stick me with clean up every time." He jumped as someone picked up a dish next to him and began cleaning.

Mai looked down into the sink full of dirty dishes. "_Gomen nasai_. I didn't mean to leave you will all this mess."

Kam nodded. "It's not a problem."

"But you just said…" Mai began.

Kam blushed a bit. "Yeah, don't mind that, I always gripe when I do dishes."

Mai nodded. "Oh, I can finish now then if you don't want to."

Kam nearly left and then stopped. He wiped his hands on his shirt to remove the soap suds, and then raised Mai's face. He was shocked to see that her eyes were quite red and her cheeks were puffy from crying. "What happened?"

Mai turned away. "It's nothing, really."

"Bull." Kam stated, surprising both himself and the young girl. "What's wrong?" His voice was softer as he asked again.

Mai shook her head. "It's nothing, I just over reacted before." She went back to washing the dishes, trying to avoid the topic.

Kam picked up another dish and began to scrub. "If you say so." He didn't believe her entirely, but she wasn't going to talk to him now. He'd wait, and be there when she was ready to talk. He placed the dish in the drying rack and reached for another. He stopped as his hand brushed against Mai's hand under the soapy water.

Mai blushed and pulled away. "_Gomen nasai_…" Her eyes darted toward Kam for a moment and was surprised to see Kam's face was flushed as well. She looked back down into the sink and took another plate. "We should finish."

Kam nodded and the two finished the chore quickly. He placed the last dish back into the cabinet and turned go, but stopped. Mai stood as the sink staring into the soapy water, seeming to study her reflection. "Mai-chan?"

Mai startled and reached beneath the water to pull the drain plug. She smiled weakly at Kam as she walked away from the kitchen. "I'm kind of tired. I think I'll go to bed early tonight."

Kam wanted to stop her, to try and get her to tell him what was wrong. Instead, he nodded. "I'll walk you to your room."

She blushed, but nodded. "_Arigatou_…" Mai walked to her room slowly, her eyes constantly shifting from the path ahead of her and her companion beside her. Despite her slow pace, she reached the door of her second floor room not long after her walk began. "Goodnight."

Kam nodded. "Mai-chan?"

"_Hai_?"

Kam swallowed and turned away slightly. "I know it's not much, but if you need someone to talk to, I'm right across the hall."

Mai blinked at his offer, then smiled. "Thank you Kamali."

Kam nodded as Mai opened her door and slipped inside. "Sure." He entered his own room and closed the door. He picked up his CD player, swapped out the disc within, and lay down on his futon with the headphones on. With the press of the play button, the music began and Kam's consciousness began to wane. "I just wish she would call me Kam like everyone else…" He yawned just before falling asleep.

ooooo

A sound echoed about the Hinata-sou. It was slow and haunting, yet hopeful in tone as well. Erika followed that sound to the roof, where she stopped to listen to the beautiful melody of Shinichi's music.

Shinichi sat on the far side of the roof with his legs hanging over the edge. His face was turned toward the sight of the three-quarter moon that hung high overhead, but his eyes were closed as his fingers ran over the keys of the saxophone he held.

Erika slowly crept over to where Shinichi sat and took up a spot beside him. She didn't know whether or not Shinichi knew she was there, but her presence didn't seem to affect his playing. She closed her eyes and listened, letting the music carry her spirit. At her side she rested her own instrument. Her eyes opened a few minutes later as Shinichi ended his song on a sad, lilting, note. "That was…"

"What do you want Erika?" Shinichi lay his instrument across his lap, but didn't turn as he cut her off.

Erika's face fell a little bit at the harsh tone of his voice. "You're still mad?" When she got now response she continued. "I'm sorry I made her cry."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to." Shinichi stated coolly.

Erika nodded. "Oh…I think Mai went to bed already. I guess I'll talk with her tomorrow morning."

Shinichi nodded. "I think that would be a good start."

Erika brightened as she heard Shinichi's voice regained some of it's former warmth. "What were you playing be before?"

Shinichi shrugged. "Just a melody that came to me, I call it Loving Season."

Erika smiled. "Loving Season? Is it for me?"

Shinichi looked out over the city. "It's really amazing, how much the view has changed from up here."

Erika frowned. "You're changing the subject."

Shinichi nodded. "Yep."

With a sigh, Erika picked up the instrument at her side. She held up the flute so that Shinichi could see it. "Maybe I could join you next time?"

Shinichi looked between the tan girls face and the tarnished silver flute. "You think you can keep up with me with that old thing?"

Erika clutched the flute close to her chest. "Hey! This flute was my mommy's! Don't make fun of it!"

"Your mom's huh?" Shinichi looked away. "Sorry."

"It's ok."

"How come you have it?" Shinichi pointed to the flute.

Erika looked down over the roof sadly. "Mommy doesn't play it anymore. She's always officiating this, or overseeing that. Telling me how important her duties are as the queen, and that…" She looked up and smiled. "Anyway, she gave it to me and I taught myself how to play."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "Taught yourself? You any good?"

Erika brought the flute to her lips and began to play the first few notes softly.

"_Tomare, tomare_." Shinichi waved his hands.

Erika looked up at Shinichi as though she was going to cry. "Why should I stop? What's wrong?"

"There's no push behind it." Shinichi pointed out. "No heart, no spirit. You're just playing notes, not music."

"So, what should I do?" Erika asked.

Shinichi shrugged. "Think of something to inspire you, play that feeling, that's music. Like this." He stood, licked his lips, and wet the reed of his sax. He then started to play.

Erika sat completely mesmerized. The tune before had captivated her as well, but in a different way. It had been slow and heartfelt, but this, this was upbeat, fast, driving. It made you want to get up and go do something, anything at all. She finally responded as Shinichi, while still playing, motioned for her to try again. Erika stood and placed the flute to her lips. "Something that inspires me?" She thought silently. "What could that be?" She watched as Shinichi poured his entire being into his music. She smiled and began to play.

Shinichi stopped as Erika's music began to take over his own. It wasn't quite as fast as his own playing, but that gave their impromptu song a nice offset beat. He nodded and joined in again.

Erika smiled, throwing her off the beat a moment, as Shinichi began to counter harmonize her music. She had to turn away to keep from laughing outright as he began to dance to the music.

Together, they jammed the night away, completely unaware of the eyes and ears that took in the performance.

ooooo

Inari awoke to the sound of barely notable footsteps in the hall outside her door. Anyone else would have missed them, but she had been forced to train herself to be better then most people. On the street, hearing first meant hurting less later. She crept to the door and slid it open a crack.

"Did you two have to do that all night?" Kam complained as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Shinichi gave the older boy a gentle shove. "Oh deal with it. Just cause the rest of you guys can't function after dark doesn't mean I'm not going to have some fun if the opportunity presents itself."

"I thought you were ready to kill Erika yesterday though." Kam rounded the corner and headed down the stairs.

Shinichi shrugged as he followed. "We worked it out."

Inari slid the door open wider and followed the two boys. "Just where are those two going this early?" She made her way to the front door and found no one in sight. Quickly slipping on her shoes, she ran outside and looked around. She smiled as she noticed that there was still dew on the morning ground, but was confused to see that there was only one set of tracks. She shrugged it off and ran after the trail. She stopped a she heard the voices again.

"Keep your left hand higher, and angle it more." Shinichi instructed. "It will help to deflect a punch without you having to absorb the full force of the blow. Here, watch."

Inari climbed over a few fallen tree branches to gain a view of the waterfall. Kam and Shinichi were atop the cliff where the waterfall began. They were barefoot in the water, and moving around as though they were sparring in slow motion.

"I see." Kam nodded. "I would use this technique to guard against my opponent, and then…" He spun and reached out to strike at Shinichi's exposed flank, only to be stopped by Shinichi's expert hand.

Inari blinked at the fluid motions of both the boys. "They are moving more slowly for the sake of practice, but still…they may be even better then my old man." She moved to head back for the dorm, and tripped over one of the trees exposed roots.

Shinichi turned as he heard the grunt of pain. A moment later he fell over the waterfall as Kam kicked him in the head and crashed into the pond below.

Kam leaned over the edge. "Sorry."

Shinichi sat up in the water, spitting a large amount of the ponds contents through his teeth like a fountain. "I wasn't planning on a bath until later…" He glanced over to where Inari was still on the ground. "Hey."

Inari stood up quickly. "How disappointing, I thought I could get some good blackmail photos of you."

Shinichi blinked. "Kay…"

"Shinichi! Get out of the way!" Kam called.

Shinichi's eyes went wide. "Don't you dare!" He looked up just in time to see Kam's feet land on his face.

Inari blinked, showing no emotion, at the scene before her.

Kam stood in the water. "Shinichi? Where are you?" He turned and saw Inari for the first time. "Morning! What are you doing out here?"

"I was…"

"Kam!" Shinichi rose out of the water and grabbed the smaller boy around the waist. "_No baka_!" Shinichi lifted Kam off the ground a moment just before slamming him back under the water.

Inari watched as the two boys fought and yelled insults at each other. "All the grace they fought with before, it's gone now…" She waited a few minutes more until Kam and Shinichi collapsed on the banks of the pond exhausted. She shook her head and started to head home.

"Inari?" Kam pulled himself from the water. "You didn't answer my question. Did you want to spar with us or something?"

Inari laughed. "Spar with you? You guys aren't even in the same class as I am."

"Looked different the other day." Shinichi muttered.

"What was that ass?" Inari demanded.

Shinichi rose to the challenge. "You heard me. And if you aren't out here to train with us? What are you here for? You spying on us?"

Inari forced her jaw to unclench before her overgrown tooth made her lip bleed. "Like I said, I was just looking for an opportunity for blackmail photos."

"Photos?" Kam scratched his head. "Of what?"

Inari shrugged. "I though you and the ass over there were coming out here to play doctor. Thought it might be an opportunity for some quick yen."

Kam scratched his head again. "Playing doctor?" He turned to Shinichi. "Is that some kind of training program?"

Shinichi fell over in shock for a moment before he jumped up again. "How is it that you're older than me and be so…so…clueless!"

Kam blinked. "_Nani_?"

Shinichi sighed. "Come here." He leaned over and whispered into Kam's ear what Inari had been referring to.

Kam's eyes when wide as he heard the explanation. "Hey!"

Inari laughed. "You really are clueless."

Kam called to the girl as she started to walk away. "Inari! You're always welcome to join us anytime you want!"

"Says who!?" Shinichi demanded. "I'm the one teaching the lesson here! You can't just invite someone else like that!"

Kam turned an angry glare on the younger boy. "If she wants to join us, you will let her or I will stop tutoring you!"

Shinichi grumbled and walked away. "Whatever, she's to stuck up to join us anyway. It'll never happen."

Inari ground her teeth. "I don't have time to baby-sit you while you play fight." She turned and stalked off without looking back, hiding the fact that she was losing the stoic face she had shown earlier as a small smile turned her lips. "Still, it was nice of Kam to invite me." She whispered.

ooooo

Aijou fell into her seat at the dinning room table and let her head fall forward with a dull thud. "Good thing I have that suspension, I'm so tired."

Mai walked in from the kitchen and placed a cup of coffee next to the groggy Goth's head. "Trouble sleeping?"

Aijou lifted her head and nodded as she sipped her drink. "What? You slept through all that?"

Mai nodded. "Papa used to play music for me when I was little and I couldn't sleep. So would _onii-chan_, when Papa was away." The little girl smiled and looked down. "It was very nice, and I always had good dreams when they would help me get back to sleep."

Aijou sipped some more of her coffee. "Guess you slept well then last night." She turned as the door slid open and slammed shut again. She blinked as Inari strode in, looking half-amused, half-annoyed. "Something wrong?"

"That…stupid…little…ass!" Inari growled through her teeth. "I swear one of these days I'm going to…" She reached out into the air and made a strangling grip, along with an exasperated yell.

Mai groaned and held her face in her hands. "What did _onii-chan_ do now?"

"Wait a minute." Aijou's head popped up of the table. "Where's Shinichi?"

Inari made a face and pointed toward the general direction of the waterfall. "He's training with Kam."

Aijou stood quickly, knocking her chair over onto the floor. "Then who the hell was snoring in his room when I passed it?!" She ran off toward the boy's room, leaving Inari and Mai behind.

"I don't care what she says," Inari commented as she stood and followed at a much calmer pace. "She has a thing for him."

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai wondered aloud. "And Aijou? You really think so?"

Inari nodded. "Hasn't your mom ever told you about this place?"

Mai shook her head.

"Urashima women tend to end up with the first man that see's them naked." Inari shrugged. "At least that's how mother told it." She stopped as she reached the landing.

Aijou stood in Shinichi's doorway, looking rather ashen as she took in the sight before her. She walked into the room and pulled the cover off of the body on the futon. Her anger quickly began to overtake her initial shock. For there, on Shinichi's futon, Erika slept soundly.

The princess lay on he back and was spread rather haphazardly across the mattress. Her long silver hair was mussed and tossed about on the pillow. Her face wore a contented smile, at least when she wasn't snoring. It was her clothes however that caught the most attention, her yellow dress was gone and replaced with one of Shinichi's oversized sleeveless shirts that hung off her thin frame and a pair of Shinichi's boxer shorts. She rolled over in her sleep. "Shinichi-kun…"

Mai looked back and forth between the girl on the futon, and the girl looming over the futon. "_Ano_…"

Inari motioned for Mai to remain silent. "This should be fun."

Aijou grabbed Erika's shirt and lifted the girl off the futon. "What are you doing in here and in Shinichi's clothes?"

Erika continued to snore. "Shinichi-kun…that tickles…"

Inari pushed Mai back a step.

"Tickles?!" Aijou's eyes went red with flame. "If this tickles you'll die laughing from this!" She spun and threw Erika through the open window. Aijou looked down as she felt a tug on her own shirt. "Crap…" The two girls went tumbling out the window and crashed onto the front walkway.

Erika sat up with a yawn and looked around. "How did I get down here?" She stretched her arms, realizing for the first time that she was holding Aijou's shirt in her hand. "Huh? Aijou?"

"Oh, make the world stop spinning." Aijou groaned.

Mai and Inari joined them at the front door, except they took the stairs. They tried to contain their laughter, but were failing miserably.

At the front stairs that lead to the street, someone cleared his throat. "Excuse me."

Aijou got to her feet quickly and did her best to look in control of the situation. She looked over the young man.

He was tall and pale skinned, though not unhealthy in the slightest. His brown eyes were stern and showed clearly his deep rooted discipline and power. He wore a blue suit and had short black hair that ended just above his shoulders. A single belt across his chest supported a katana at his back. "I apologize for disturbing you in the middle of…whatever this is. However, I require a few moments of your time."

Aijou raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're awfully presumptuous for someone who hasn't even formally introduced himself yet."

The young man nodded. "You are right, I apologize for my rudeness." He reached into his suit coat and pulled what looked like a small wallet. He opened it up and displayed the contents to the girls.

Inari clenched her fists. "Aijou, I think we should have him leave."

Mai twiddled her fingers nervously. "But, he's…"

"What does an officer of the Kyoto Police Department want with us?" Erika asked.

Aijou frowned. "I'm wondering the same thing. Officer…?"

"Detective, actually." The man corrected. "And please relax, no one is in any trouble. I merely need to ask you all some questions." He bowed to the them. "I thank you for your assistance. I am…"

End Chapter Four

Rider: So? What do you all think? Good? Bad? Other? Drop me a line and let me know.

Star: What the hell are the cops doing at the Hinata-sou? (looks around) Where's Wraiths?

Rider: He's learning a very important lesson about touching other people's things without permission.

ooooo

Pawnshop owner: (counting his money) Anything else I can get you sir?

Wraiths: (Crying as he hands over more money) Yes, my stereo, my TV, my ipod, my…

ooooo

Star: Wow…remind me never to cross you.

Rider: Sure. Till the next, live well people.

Star: Bye!

ooooo

Bio

Name: Lu Erika, daughter of Lu Lamba and Su Amalla, Su Kaolla's niece

Age: 17, an only child

Quick facts: Like her aunt, she has periods in which she is rather over exuberant, but is often more calm like her parents. She moves through life with a child-like naiveté, yet her whole reason to come to Hinata was to pick up her intended groom, Shinichi. As a result, she and Aijou are often at odds with one another.


	5. On The Case

Rider: _Konichiwa Minna-san_! And a very good morning it is, you know why?

Star: Because you're a simple minded fool?

Wraiths: It's payday?

Rider: No, my classes are finished! No classes for the next five weeks!

Star: So your going to update everyday, right?

Rider: Ehh? No, not quite, but hopefully more regularly than what I have been. Sadly, there were not as many reviews for the last chapter so not much for mail today. So, GeneralDragon, bonus points for the name by the way, sorry about the "cutting off at the name thing", but we're just about done with that.

Wraiths: What's with all the cookies in the kitchen?

Rider: There for gift baskets, don't touch them.

Wraiths: Oops…

Rider: Star? Can I borrow your katana?

Star: Sure.

Rider: Come my friend, let us talk.

Wraiths: (already running for his life)

Star: Idiots…Enjoy the story everyone!

ooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter Five: On the Case

Aijou turned her gaze off of the Kyoto Detective as she saw Kam and Shinichi coming down the path as they returned from their training.

The detective turned as well as he tracked Aijou's movement, and narrowed his eyes on the boys.

"Trouble." Inari warned.

"Why's the police man looking at Shinichi-kun like that?" Erika asked.

"_Onii-chan_!" Mai called out in warning.

"I see him." Shinichi responded quietly as he motioned Kam off to one side. Shinichi then turned to face the detective and also narrowed his eyes. "This time, we finish it." He made a few quick movements to stretch his arms and legs before sprinting toward the detective.

The older man dropped into a middle defensive stance and unsheathed his sword. The rasp of the metal blade against the sheath echoed through the front yard. "Yes, nothing to interrupt us now." He shifted his stance to one better suited to attack and dashed toward Shinichi whom he attacked with rapid slashes from a variety of angles.

Shinichi studied the paths of the blade and navigated his way thought the sphere of attack. He countered with few well timed punches and broke the swordsman's stance. Shinichi stopped to examine his shirt sleeves, which was cut to ribbons. He smirked. "You've gotten better."

The swordsman rubbed at his chest gingerly where Shinichi had struck. "You have as well it seems." He turned and took yet another stance. "Guess that means I can try something a bit tougher."

"Just so long as you realize I'll be doing the same." Shinichi replied as he shifted to another stance with practiced ease.

Aijou looked back and forth between the two fighters. "Did I miss something?"

Kam studied the fight intently. "Amazing, I knew Shin was good, but this is unbelievable."

Mai tugged on Aijou's shirt nervously. "We have to stop them before someone gets hurt."

"Can't stop them." Inari replied coolly. "Look at their eyes. I've seen that look on the streets. This fight is about street cred, they won't stop until someone can't fight back."

"Then that's all the more reason to stop them!" Erika yelled. She clenched her fists and began to head toward the policed officer. "Hey you! If you hurt my Shinichi-kun I'll never forgive you! And then I'll have to beat you myself!"

"Your Shinichi-kun!" Aijou's eyes went wide. "When the hell did this happen?" She ran toward the tan girl, but caught the attention of someone else.

"Both of you! Stay out of this!" Shinichi ordered as his eyes darted to the two girls. "This is a battle of honor between…"

"An opening!" The detective rushed forward taking advantage of Shinichi's divided concentration.

"Shinichi!" Aijou and Erika yelled in attempt to warn him.

"He's done." Inari commented.

Kam looked up at her. "Shinichi?"

Mai shook her head. "_Iie_, police officer-san."

"_Shinmei-ryu_ succession technique! Demon Banishing Blade!" The police officer cried as he attacked, his sword glowing with ki.

Shinichi smiled and waited until the blade was inches from his body. He then leapt and flipped over his attacker as the ki wave exploded forth.

The detective gasped as he saw Shinichi pass over him with little effort. He felt a quick tug at his back, but was otherwise untouched. He spun and brought his sword down as Shinichi landed, before there was a chance to mount a defense. He grunted as his stance was painfully broken for the second time in this fight. He looked down to see why he was in such pain.

Shinichi smiled at him as he stood from the crouching position he had entered, making his height less than the sheath he had pulled from the officers back. He had planted the staff against the ground so that when the detective attacked his sword hit the sheath, stopping him cold. Shinichi grinned. "My turn." He pulled the sheath from the ground and swept the legs of his attacker and then back flipped away. He held the sheath in both hands so that one hand rested at the handle end while the other was at the blade end. His palms were open and flat to his opponents so that only his thumbs supported his weapon. "_Kokuei-ryu_, Dance of Shadows."

Kam stared in awe. "This is too cool."

"I hope you know what you're doing _onii-chan_…" Mai whispered.

"What's he doing?" Aijou demanded.

Inari crossed her arms over her chest, but said nothing.

"Beat his butt Shinichi-kun!" Erika hollered.

The detective readied himself for anything. He knew nothing of these Kokuei arts. Yet, judging from what he saw, they would be difficult to counter.

Darkness swirled about Shinichi's body and began to merge into him. To the untrained person, there would be nothing noticeable, but he knew that the detective could see the change. "It's over."

The detective gasped as Shinichi vanished briefly only to reappear inches from him. He barely raised his sword in time to halt the attack.

Shinichi smiled, and then attacked with a speed he had not possessed previously. The detective managed to evade and block a few of the strikes, but most landed without any resistance. At last he struck the swordsman's hand and sent the blade high into the air. He then brought the sheath around to rest lightly at the detective's Adam's apple. "Submit."

For a moment the detective said nothing, did not move at all even. Then, he smiled and nodded. "You've gotten a lot better."

Shinichi stepped back and held the sword perpendicular to the ground, allowing the falling sword to slide into the sheath with only the faintest rasp of metal. "So have you." He handed over the sword. "So? What are you doing in town?"

"_Onii-chan_!" Mai ran up to her brother. "Are you hurt? Did you hurt the policeman? Is he going to have to arrest you now?"

Shinichi looked over to the young man. "Toshi? You're a cop?"

"Hold on." Aijou rubbed at the brow of her nose. "You know Detective Hajime?"

Shinichi groaned. "Crap, you're a detective too. You're not going to charge me with assaulting an officer are you?"

Toshi smiled. "No, I initiated the fight as soon as I saw you."

"I though Shinichi-kun made the first move though." Erika recalled. "Hey! How come you remembered him! You didn't remember me last night!"

Shinichi shrugged. "I had to remember your name and face."

"The two things most people use to identify the people they know." Inari's remark was heavy with sarcasm, but Shinichi ignored her.

"True, but I'm terrible with that stuff." Shinichi confessed. "But a person's battle ki, that I never forget."

"Ki?" Erika asked uncertainly. "Oh! Like that anime with guy with the big yellow hair that flies around and fights the bad guys and uses that turtle blaster move and the…"

"Yes!" Shinichi replied loudly to force Erika to stop talking. He turned back to Toshi. "So what do you need from us?"

The officer reached into his pocket and pulled out a small notebook. "I've been assigned to a case in which a comatose patient suddenly went missing."

"I remember hearing about that on the news." Mai admitted. "But why are the police so desperate to find this one person?"

"That's classified I'm afraid." Toshi replied. "Even I don't know the full details, but he was placed under the watch of the Kyoto Special Forces Division, so he had to have done something big to warrant such scrutiny."

"I'm still confused as to why you are here though." Kam replied.

"I head up the KSFD, that makes this my responsibility." Toshi explained. "According to the reports, this was where I was supposed to be able to get more information about him."

"The Hinata-sou?" Aijou scratched her head. "I think you've got something wrong in your paperwork. Nothing exciting ever happens here."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Kam joked. "The last few days have certainly been out of the ordinary."

"Well, perhaps I could talk with your parents? Mother always held them in high regard, it would not hurt to ask them."

"You're mom knows my parents?" Kam asked confused.

Toshi blinked. "Why yes." He smiled. "Of course, you don't see the connection because of the last name. Perhaps you are more familiar with the name Aoyama?"

"Oh! Aunt Motoko!" Aijou finally realized. "You're her son!"

Toshi laughed nervously. "No… Aunt Motoko's of an…alternative…lifestyle, remember? I'm Tsuruko's child."

Shinichi's eyes went wide. "Her!" He went over and huddled in the shadow of a near by tree.

Inari looked around confused. "_Nani_?"

Aijou laughed. "It was something that happened a while back, a year before everyone left I think. We were having our Christmas Party and everyone was here having a good time. But then, as he so often does, Shinichi did something stupid. Aunt Tsuruko got mad at him and told him that if he did not exorcise the demon from his soul she would do it for him." She laughed again. "I think she's the only person who ever scared Shinichi."

"That's not true!" Shinichi yelled from his hiding place. "I'm scared of you too you violent tomboy!"

"What did you call me!" Aijou ran over to the huddled over boy and punted him high into the air.

Toshi blinked. "I see what mother meant about the women of the Urashima name."

Kam nodded. "Yeah, they're a violent bunch."

Toshi blinked again. "_Gomen_, I didn't mean to insult your family."

"Who's insulted?" Kam replied. "It's the truth. Anyway, our parent's aren't home, but we'll be happy to help however we can. Why not join us for breakfast while we talk?"

Toshi nodded. "That sounds agreeable."

"I'll go finish preparing breakfast then." Mai stopped as she reached the door. "Um, I forgot to ask. How do you know _onii-chan_?"

Toshi opened the door for the young girl. "I faced your father at the National Kendo Championships a few years ago. I met him there." He grimaced at the memory. "It was my second defeat that day."

Inari pushed passed the group huddled around the entrance to the dorms. "Touching. Now either go in, or get out of the way."

Toshi narrowed his eyes on Inari before turning to Kam. "What's her problem?"

Kam shrugged. "She and Shin got into some kind of fight before. Don't worry about it, it seems to happen a lot around here."

Aijou stormed past the foursome into the dorm. "_Baka, baka, baka, baka…_"

Toshi blinked. "I take it this is normal as well?"

Kam nodded.

Toshi was about to step inside when he stopped. "Wait, are you telling me that everyone in this house is a minor?"

Kam swallowed. "Um, yes. Is that a problem?"

"I really should report this." Toshi admitted.

"Please don't do that!" Erika pleaded. "I don't want to go home yet! I want to stay with Shinichi-kun!"

Toshi shook his head as he tried to decide what to do. "This is borderline child neglect to have no official guardian here for all you kids."

"You don't need to worry about that then." Called a voice from the steps. "Granny Hina had a feeling something like this would happen, so she sent me back to keep you guys in line."

Kam turned to the sound of the voice. "Oh no, not you…"

ooooo

Shinichi was walking through the business district by himself. "She didn't have to kick me so damn far from home." He sighed and sat down on a bench and waited for the bus. He got up again a moment later as he remembered he didn't have his wallet. "_Sensei_ would kill me anyway for doing that. Use the walk as part of your training he would say."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to walk, ignoring the looks that the other people on the street gave him for not having a coat in the late fall wind. He passed a payphone and paused to head back. He stared at it a for a long time before he picked up the handle. "She's probably worried about Mai." He placed the receiver to his ear and dialed the operator. "Yes, I'd like to make a collect call please." He waited as the phones connected.

"Hi there." Someone responded in English.

"Hi mom…" Shinichi began.

"You've reached the Maehara home. We can't get to the phone right now so please leave a message…"

Shinichi ground his teeth as he listened to the answering machine go through the usual round. "She's not even home." His expression softened again. "She's probably looking around all my old hangouts."

He waited until the message finished before he spoke again. "It's me mom. Just wanted to let you know that Mai is ok. Don't worry, I'm looking out for her. We're staying with some friends of mine…" He sighed. "We're ok, so please don't worry. I'll try to get Mai to go home, but you know how she can get. I'll come home as soon as I find what I'm looking for. Bye mom." He took the phone away from his ear and move it toward the cradle when he heard the click from the other end of the line.

"Shinichi!? Are you still there!? Shinichi?! Please! Answer me!"

Shinichi hung up the phone even though he could here his mother's pleading voice. He leaned forward and rested his head against the cool metal of the telephone. "Damn it." He whispered. He pushed away from the phone and spun into a kick that toppled the metal pole to the ground. "God damn it!" He glared at the men and women on the street who had stopped to view the odd scene. "What are you staring at!?" He ran down the street and into an alley. He climbed the fire escape ladder that was there and continued his sprint across the roof tops of Hinata.

Halfway home, he stopped. He sat down on the ledge of one of the taller buildings and looked over the city. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. "Damn it." He lowered his head to his knees. "She was crying." His hand darted out and punched the stone ledge he sat on. It lacked the power that he had used to topple the telephone pole, but he still managed to shatter a good portion of the stone. He didn't even notice the blood that ran down his fingers and fell to the street far below. "Now I'm no better than he is."

ooooo

Toshi sipped his drink and laid the cup back down on the table. "That was a magnificent breakfast Mai-chan. Thank you very much."

Mai blushed at the older man's complement. "It's really no trouble at all. You're very welcome."

Kam wasn't sure why, but he didn't like seeing Mai get flustered by Toshi. "So what did you need help with?"

Toshi nodded and pulled out his notebook. "For starters, a list of the tenants who stayed here over the past fifteen to twenty years.

"I think those are somewhere in Mom and Dad's room." Aijou nodded and excused herself from the table. "I'll see if I can find them."

"Any names in particular you're looking for?" Kam asked. "You know most of us already. From when you and you mom used to visit."

"That's true." Toshi admitted. "But mother always made reference to the fact that there were others who stayed here that I did not meet."

"There was?" Kam asked uncertainly. "I been here for forever, and I remember almost everyone that's ever passed through those doors." He paused. "Was there anyone you can think of from before when Aijou and I were born, Aunt Sarah?"

The newcomer to the table brushed her long blonde hair from her blue eyes, and glared at the boy just before she hit him with a paper fan. "I told you not to call me that. You and your sister are ok, but to be your aunt I'd have to be related to your father and an association to that dork I don't need."

Sarah McDougal replaced her fan under the table and calmly sipped her coffee.

"I should arrest you for child abuse." Toshi informed Sarah coolly as he studied the older woman.

Life had been quite kind to the American. The blonde brat of ten years ago had been replaced with a blonde bombshell that could turn the head of a blind man, and Sarah knew it. She wore a tight fitting tank top that perhaps overexposed her ample cleavage, and jean shorts that were left very little to the imagination about what was underneath. Her body was well toned as well, perhaps from her extensive explorations of ancient ruins.

Sarah tied her long blonde hair back into a tight whip-like ponytail. "You're welcome to try kid."

Toshi's eyes narrowed. He had heard about this woman from his aunt, she had an uncanny ability to walk away from issues with the law with little to no repercussions.

"Anyway Kam, there were a few people that stopped by now and again, but I don't really remember them very well." Sarah finally replied. "You'd have to ask your parents…or the Maeharas."

"Why Mama and Papa?" Mai asked.

"They had a very close friendship, your dad and Keitaro." Sarah explained. "Maybe Keitaro told him something that would be helpful."

Toshi nodded. "That's as good a place as any to start." He turned to the little girl. "Where is your father? Is there a number I can call him at?"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know. I think he's on tour in Australia with his band right now, but I don't know if there is a way to call him." She paused as she thought for a moment. "_Onii-chan_ might know, but he…"

"He what?" Toshi insisted.

Mai looked down into her lap. "He might not tell you anything…"

Kam blinked. "Why wouldn't Shinichi tell…"

"I've got to start washing the dishes." Mai stood quickly and left the table.

Kam looked around the table. "Did I say something?"

"She's trying to protect her brother's secrets." Inari stated, causing the others to turn toward her. She shrugged off the confused looks. "Street honed intuition."

"Where is Shinichi then?" Toshi asked. "Perhaps I could ask him myself?"

Kam looked around. "Come to think of it, I don't know. He's usually back by now when Aijou kicks him around."

"I heard that." Aijou walked back in from the other room. "Kam? Do you know anything about the filing system Dad uses?"

Kam shook his head. "Why?"

Aijou motioned for everyone to follow her into her parents room.

Erika whistled. "That's a lot of boxes."

"Please, please, please, tell me there is a system here." Toshi pleaded as he surveyed the mountains out cardboard file holders.

"Knowing Dad, shove files in box, done." Aijou nodded. "I can only assume that what you need is in one of these boxes."

Mai opened one of the boxes and flipped through the first few pages. "This one seems to be tax papers." She flipped a few more pages. "And these are expense accounts, and these are something I don't recognize."

Inari smirked. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you."

Toshi groaned. "There's no way I can fit all this in my office to go through everything." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Fine, I'll send someone to pick up some of the boxes and bring them to the stationhouse later."

"Why not…stay here?" Aijou suggested.

Toshi turned. "What?"

"Stay here." Aijou repeated. "You stayed here over a few times when you were little. Why not come back? You'd have access to the files when every you'd need, and if my parents come home you wouldn't even have wait for us to call you so you could get your information."

Toshi paused to consider the offer.

"Yeah stay with us!" Erika grabbed Toshi's hand. "My Aunt Su and your Aunt Motoko were good friends, and I'd like to be your friend too!" She paused. "You're skin is very soft."

"Umm, thank you?" Toshi pulled away from Erika and turned to Aijou. "You sure that you don't mind me living here? I remember what it was like to be a teenager, parties and all that. Having a police officer around might put a damper on things for you."

"Not to mention the fact that you'd be bringing your partners in here to assist you sort the files." Inari noted as she cast a mistrusting eye at Toshi. "Right?"

Toshi narrowed his gaze on the younger girl. "You seem to know an awful lot about police protocol."

Inari shrugged. "It happens when you get arrested for bogus charges."

Toshi nodded, but only slightly, before he turned to Aijou again. "She's basically right, but I can meet you half-way. I won't bring my partners to the Hinata-sou, and I will try not to act to much like a cop while I'm living here."

Aijou nodded. "And we'll try not to get to far out of hand."

"Though given the people who live here…" Kam began.

"And this place's reputation for drawing out mischief." Sarah continued. "I don't know how long that will hold up."

"Ok then." Aijou smiled. "And another one comes home."

Toshi nodded. "Yes, but I must be going. There are other aspects of the investigation I must attend to."

Kam glanced at his watch. "_Kuso_!" He ran to his room and a moment later was running out the door while pulling his uniform around his sprinting form. "I'm going to be late for school!"

Toshi glanced at the other residents. "Shouldn't the rest of you be off as well?"

"Suspended." Aijou explained.

Mai twiddled her fingers nervously. "I have not been enrolled in a school yet."

Inari shrugged. "Dropped out a long time ago."

Erika flashed a victory symbol. "I graduated!"

Toshi shook his head. "Right. I'll see you tonight then." He looked around. "Is Shinichi still not back yet?"

ooooo

Shinichi flipped the bird to some old man as he walked along the roof. "I ain't even on your roof! Buzz off!" He stopped as he saw the man pick up the phone. "Whoops, time to fade." Shinichi jumped over far edge of the roof, out of the old man's sight. He looked down and grimaced as he landed unceremoniously.

"Crap…" Shinichi pulled a half eaten container of ramen from atop his head as he sat up from the piles of trash. He stopped as he heard growling. "Double crap…" He looked around and found the source of the growling, a few feet away stood a dog with it's teeth bared and ears laid flat as it stared at Shinichi. "And crap again…" He tried to stand which caused the dog to growl louder, so he sat and sighed. "What? I ruined your breakfast so I can't move now?"

The dog continued to growl.

Shinichi sighed again. "What's that saying? Music to sooth the savage beast or something?" Shinichi lips parted and music came forth, no words, just a simple melody.

The dog cocked it's head at the new, unfamiliar sound.

Shinichi smiled and held his hand out.

The dog sniffed at the extended hand, found the cut Shinichi had received earlier and licked at it. A moment later, the dog relaxed and ceased it's growling.

Shinichi pet the dog on the head. "Sorry I snapped before girl. So caught up in my being angry, I didn't recognize a kindred spirit." He stood and gave the dog one more pat before walking away. He exited the small alley and began to walk the long road back to the Hinata-sou. He turned as he felt something nudge his hand and found it resting atop the dog's head. "No, no, no way girl. Aijou would freak if I brought you home." He stopped and scratched behind the dogs ears. At the same moment, he heard clinking at his feet as a man in a business suit walked past. Shinichi looked at the coins in disgust, but sighed.

His shirt's sleeves were torn from his spar with Toshi. His feet were bare from his training with Kam. His fist was bloody from his own stupidity, and he could only imagine what his face must look like after crying on the roof. "And now accompanied by a mangy dog."

The dog growled at him.

"No offense." Shinichi apologized. "But I can see why the man would throw money at me rather than talk to me." He was about to walk away and leave the coins on the ground when he saw the dog's condition for the first time. The alley had been darker, but in the light Shinichi could see that the dog's orange-brown fur was badly matted. Because of this, it was even easier to see the dog's ribs. Still, despite the fact that it was clearly starved, Shinichi could see the resilient spirit and determination in the dog's brown eyes. He picked up the coins. "Come on."

Counting the coins quickly, Shinichi found a small take out cart and ordered the largest portion he could. He pulled one of the _takoyaki_ from the container and held it out to the dog. He smiled as the dog quickly gulped it down and set the container on the ground. "Must have been a while since you last had something other than scraps." He murmured softly as he stroked the dog's fur. "I can relate. Just don't make yourself sick, ok?" He blinked as a sudden camera flash blinded him.

The dog spun and growled at the young woman holding the camera.

"Oh my." The young woman took a step back from the canine in fear.

Shinichi placed his hand on the dog's neck, afraid that it would attack the girl. Yet at his touch the dog quieted and returned to her meal. "Sorry, she seems to be a little skittish." He looked her over quickly.

She was dressed in a long brown skirt and a long sleeved green shirt. Her dark brown hair was tied back into a tight braid that she had doubled up to make a hoop. Her chocolate- brown eyes seemed naïve, even for her young face.

The woman nodded. "I should not have startled the two of you. I'm sorry."

Shinichi smiled and nodded. "It's ok." He pointed at the small digital camera the girl held. "What's with that?"

The woman blinked. "This? I was on my way to the convention center to get some pictures of the auto show for my school newspaper, but I seem to have gotten a bit lost." She paused and stuck her tongue out. "But I'm a bit of a sucker for animals, and just had to stop to take a picture of you and your dog. What's her name?"

Shinichi shrugged. "Don't know. She's not my dog, just a stray I met a moment ago."

The dog whimpered at Shinichi.

"She seems to think that she's your dog." The girl observed.

Shinichi pet the dog's head. "Guess so…"

The woman smiled. "Well, I should get going." She stopped a few feet away. "I don't suppose you know where the convention center is, do you?"

"What's the address?" Shinichi asked.

The girl handed him a flyer from her pocket.

Shinichi sweat dropped as he read the paper. "This convention…it's in Hokkaido."

"Yes, I know." The girl replied sweetly.

Shinichi sweat dropped again. "_Ano_, this is Hinata."

The girl blinked. "Oh! That explains why the train fare was so much more expensive then I planned for!" She turned away. "Well, I better start walking home then."

"Why not just use your return ticket?" Shinichi inquired.

"I could only afford the one way ticket with the increased price." She admitted.

Shinichi shook his head. "If you spent that much on a train ticket, walking home is out of the question, it'd be too far away. Come on, you can use the phone at my house to call a cab or something."

"That's very kind of you." The girl took up step beside Shinichi. "I'm sorry I'm being such a burden on you, and I don't even know your name."

"It's Shinichi, Shinichi Maehara."

The girl gasp. "Shin-kun?!"

Shinichi turned to her with a look of fear in his eyes. "Erika called me something like that too…you're not here to marry me too are you?"

The girl laughed. "No, I'm not. I'm just surprised to meet you like this." She frowned as she saw the confused look on Shinichi's face. "Don't you recognize me? I'm…"

ooooo

Bio

Name: Hajime Toshi, only child of Aoyama Tsuruko and ???

Age: 22

Quick Facts: As a detective in charge of the Kyoto Special Forces, his influence is far greater than his few years would have you believe. He carries a katana in place of a firearm, as he is more comfortable with it. It is unknown just how much he knows about the case he is working on.

Name: McDougal Sarah, adoptive daughter of Seta and Haruka (like you didn't know that)

Age: 27

Quick Facts: Following somewhat in her adoptive parents footsteps, she now acts as a ruin explorer, though the legality of that title is in something of a gray area. She came back to the Hinata-sou at Granny Hina's request to act as a legal guardian for the increasing amount of underage tenants who now live in the old apartments. He time with Haruka seems to have helped shape her personality somewhat, perhaps that is why Kam seems to be more cautious around her.

ooooo

Rider: Well, I hope that everyone enjoyed this. As always, please leave a little something so I can hear what you think about the progress so far.

Star: And you get the next chapter up soon, you have no excuses now.

Rider: I still have to work…

Wraiths: Whatever.

Rider: You're already conscious? I must not have hit you hard enough. Oh well. 'Till the next, live well all.

Star: Later people!

Wraiths: So long.


	6. Gathered

Rider: _Konichi-wa Minna-san_! At long last I have returned from the black, bottomless hole that is work. Never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to be back in class.

Star: That is kind of a sad thing to say.

Wraiths: (sitting off in a corner with a gameboy)

Rider: I'm surprise he hasn't been sucked into the screen yet…

Star: Ignore him, lets go.

Rider: Right, Mail time.

To KylaranAeldin, sorry about the slow start, but things should be picking up soon. And yes, I am trying to make sure everything ties together properly. But as always, if I screw something up, please feel free to let me know.

To Shadic the Hedgehog, Author, You'll be happy to know that all intro cliffies are done with. Everyone is here now! By the way, who's number one Shadow or Sonic?

To Tjana-web, thanks for the correction! I feel kind of dumb for such a simple mistake…Anyway, glad you like the story.

To GeneralDragon, like I said above, things should be picking up very soon. As for Naru and Keitaro's reappearance (along with the others), umm…no idea yet. _Gomen_!

To watanuki, (rider stands in front of the hole in the age timeline) What are you talking about? Yes I know some of the ages are a bit off, but it was the closest I could get things to fit. Please forgive me.

ooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter Six: Gathered

Aijou looked up as she saw Shinichi go running through the front door and up the stairs. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry! Can't stay, got to go, talk to you later, buh-bye now!" Shinichi ran down the stairs and out the door again. "Oh, yeah. Hana needs to use the phone too."

"_Nani_?" Aijou tried to run out the door after Shinichi, and crashed into a girl. "Who the hell are you?"

"_Ara ara_. You're still quite strong Ai-_chan_." The brown-haired girl picked herself up off the ground. "It is so nice to see you again." She paused as she saw the clueless and confused look on Aijou's face, and frowned. "You don't remember me either do you?"

Mai came down the stairs a moment later. "Did _onii-chan_ just run through." She stopped as she saw the new girl, and her face lit up with a big smile. "Hana-_onee-chan_!"

"Mai-_chan_!" The girl squealed. She hugged Mai as the small girl ran up to give her a big hug. "Shin-_kun_ didn't tell me you were here too."

"I'm so happy to see you." Mai smiled. "But, what are you doing here?"

"Shin-kun invited me here." The girl replied.

"Hello?" Aijou interrupted. "Who are you?"

The girl sighed and frowned a bit. "I'm…"

"Aijou? Don't you know Hana-_onee-chan_?" Mai asked confused.

"Hana?" Aijou scratched her head a moment before her eyes went widened as the memory slowly resurfaced. "Oh! Kuramitsu Hana! Aunt Mutsumi's daughter!"

Hana smiled. "You do remember me!" She grabbed Aijou in a big hug. "It's so good to see you again." She looked around expectantly. "Where's Aunt Naru and Uncle Kei? Oh! And Kamali? Where is he?"

"Mom and Dad aren't here, and Kam's at school." Aijou lead the girls into the dinning room. "You want a drink?"

"Some tea would be nice." Hana admitted.

Aijou moved to begin making the tea when Mai stopped her.

"Maybe…I should make the tea." Mai suggested quietly.

Aijou frowned. "You saying that my tea is bad?"

"No! That's not what I meant!" Mai began to stammer.

"Relax kid, I'm just joking." Aijou smiled. "I know your tea is a lot better then mine." Leaving Mai to her duties Aijou sat with Hana at the table. "So, what brings you here?"

"Oh, I got lost again." Hana giggled. "I happened to run into Shin-kun…"

"Shin-kun?" Aijou questioned.

Hana nodded. "Yes, I ran into him in town, and he said I should come back to the Hinata-sou with him."

"Oh he did, did he?" Aijou ground her teeth.

Hana nodded again. "Yes." She scratched her chin for a moment. "Though, I forget why."

Aijou sighed, and muttered. "God you're even more clueless then I remembered."

Mai poked her head back into the dinning room. "Do you guys want green tea, or black?"

"Either would be fine." Hana called back.

"Green please." Aijou commented.

"Ok Aijou! _Onee-chan_!"

Aijou blinked. "Ok, I have to ask. Why is Mai calling you her big sister?"

Hana smiled. "She started doing that when I went with Mom to visit Aunt Shinobu in America a year or two ago."

Aijou blinked. "You got to go visit Shin and Mai in America?!" She frowned. "Shin didn't even mention it."

"Shin-kun wasn't there when I went to visit." Hana explained. "Just Aunt Shinobu and Mai-chan."

"Why'd you go to visit them?" Aijou insisted. "Your Mom wasn't the type to just go half-way around the world on a lark."

"I'm not sure why Mom decided to go." Hana admitted as she took a cup from the tray that Mai had returned with. "She just picked up one day and said she needed a little vacation from the day care center."

"Whoa, she closed the day care?" Aijou was shocked. She couldn't remember Aunt Mutsumi ever closing down the day care.

"Yes, and then we went to see Aunt Shinobu." She frowned at the memory. "Aunt Shinobu seemed really upset I remember, and Uncle Ken was away, and no one seemed to know where Shin-kun was."

Mai nodded. "Mama and Papa had argued about something and then Papa said he had to go. I got really scared when they started yelling, and _onii-chan_ wasn't there either."

Hana sipped her drink. "Poor Mai so sad when we arrived. So while my mom was with her mom, we went and played together to try and cheer her up." She smiled and stuck out her tongue. "After helping at the day care center and watching my little siblings, it was easy to get her smiling again."

"I see." Aijou couldn't help but smile a bit at the mental image, and finished her drink. "So, I guess you guys are pretty close now?"

Both girls nodded.

Hana clapped her hand. "Oh! I remember why Shin-kun told me to come here now! I have to call my parents to find me a way home."

Aijou laughed at the girl's "sudden" revelation. "Well, you're welcome to stay here until they figure something out."

"Really?" Hana smiled. "Maybe I won't call them just yet then. I'd much rather stay here with you guy's for a while."

"Can you?" Mai asked excitedly. "Can _onee-chan_ really stay here with us Aijou?"

Aijou sweat dropped. "I thought she meant for the day or something…" She stopped as she saw Mai's smile droop. "But why not, the more the merrier, _ne_?"

"Oh! This will be so much fun!" Hana giggled. "Just like old times!"

Aijou sighed, but smiled. "Yeah, just like old times. Everyone's home now." She glanced out the window. "But where the hell did Shin run off to?"

ooooo

Kam loosened his tie as he exited the school and tossed his bag over his shoulder. He paused. "That's odd." He brought the bag around front and lifted it a few times, as though testing it. "I remember this being a lot heavier with all my books in it." He returned the bag to his shoulder and continued to walk.

"_Kawai desu_!"

Kam looked around for the girl attached to the voice, but found no one.

"Can I pet it?" Asked another voice.

"What's her name?" Asked a third.

A forth voice came up. "Look at that little ribbon in her hair! It's so cute!"

Kam rounded the corner of the wall that surrounded his school and stopped with a look of displeasure on his face. He watched as Shinichi stood at the center of a group of half a dozen girls, smiling and flirting with them all. "Shinichi? What the hell are you doing here?"

Shinichi turned and waved. "Waiting for you." He bowed to the girls. "_Gomen nasai_ ladies, but I must be going."

Kam couldn't believe his ears as the girls protested Shinichi's leaving, but at last they let him pass. That was when Kam understood. "When did you get a dog?"

Shinichi shrugged. "We ran into each other this morning." He scratched the dog behind the ears and pointed at Kam. "Say hello."

Kam jumped as the dog barked at him in greeting. He reached out and gingerly pat the dog's head. He smiled as the dog's eyes closed, seeming to enjoy his hand running over her soft orange fur. After a moment he turned and the boys began to walk home. "You never answered my question."

"Yes, I did." Shinichi corrected. "I said I was waiting for you."

Kam shook his head. "How'd you even know where to wait? I never told you my school's name."

"I tracked your _ki_, I told you I never forget that." Shinichi replied calmly.

Kam shrugged and continued to walk. He glanced over at Shinichi, and in a moment's time he knew that there was something more that Shinichi wasn't saying.  
"What's up?"

Shinichi frowned. "I…" He sighed. "I need to ask a favor of you."

"Ok." Kam nodded.

"It's just for information." Shinichi continued. "I don't expect you to do any of the hard stuff."

"Ok, I get it." Kam turned. "What's the favor?"

Shinichi sighed again. "I was doing some thinking this morning, after Aijou kicked me downtown. I was trying to figure out how to get Mai to go home, but she can be more stubborn than I am…"

"I highly doubt that." Kam teased.

"Not helping."

"Sorry." Kam replied through a small laugh. "Go on."

"She won't go home until I do, but I can't yet, so in the mean time I need to get her into a school." Shinichi looked down at the ground. "Out of the two of us Mai is the smart one, so I wanted to send her to a good school, like Aijou's, but I don't have a lot of cash for the enrollment. So the favor is, do you know of any ways I could get her into a school like that? Or any other schools with good reps?"

"Don't send her to Aijou's school." Kam shrugged at Shinichi's shocked expression. "The place is over rated in my opinion, and Aijou hates it there. Why not just send her to the same school I go to? The grades are just as competitive, and it's more fun." He paused. "The tuition is also a lot less, so your parents…"

"My parents have nothing to do with this." Shinichi replied flatly.

Kam blinked. "Oh…Well, the tuition is less, so you could probably enroll as well." He walked in silence for a moment. "You know that your parents have to sign off on your enrollment, right?"

Shinichi sighed. "I'll figure something out."

"Why not just ask for help from your…"

"I can't!" Shinichi snapped. He walked in silence a bit longer. "Sorry."

Kam just nodded. After hearing Mai's partial confession this morning, and Shinichi actions now, he wasn't going to pressure the issue, yet. "Toshi moved in today."

"Really? That's cool. So did Hana." Shinichi replied.

"Hana? Oh, that Hana! Haven't seen her in forever." Kam blushed a moment. "Is she still…" He made a quick motion with his hands.

Shinichi laughed. "Yeah, they're like watermelons or something."

Kam laughed lightly as well. "You remember how Aijou and Hana used to fight?"

"Hana didn't fight." Shinichi corrected. "She was always to confused to even remember what was going on, Aijou just got overwhelmed with the dizziness.

"I guess." Kam nodded as he began to climb the stairs to the Hinata-_sou_. He paused half-way up.

Shinichi stopped as well. "Something wrong?"

Kam shook his head. "No, just thinking about something."

"Maehara Shinichi!" The boys turned to see Aijou standing at the top of the stairs, glaring at them both. "Where the hell have you been?"

The dog at Shinichi's side began to growl and bared her teeth at Aijou.

Shinichi lay his hand on the dog's head. "Stop that Inuki." He nodded as the dog relaxed its stance, and chose to ignore the low rumbling the dog continued with. "Sorry Aijou."

Aijou rubbed her eyes. "When'd you get a dog?"

Shinichi laughed. "Long story." He pat Inuki again. "Say hello." He frowned as the dog simple flattened it's ears in challenge. "Guess not. Wonder why she's doing this, she took to Kam quickly."

"Whatever." Aijou flipped her hair over her shoulder. "It's not staying here so it doesn't matter."

Shinichi's jaw dropped. "Oh come on! I just got her all cleaned up and licensed!"

"So that's why you ran out so quickly before." Aijou whispered so that the boys wouldn't hear her . She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine it can stay here, but you have to start studying harder. I want to see a seventy on your next practice test when we study together as payment."

Kam and Shinichi both did a double take between Aijou and each other.

Kam leaned over. "Is it possible that the dog was growling because Aijou's a pod person?"

"She did agree to let Inuki stay here kind of fast." Shinichi agreed.

"Fine! Put her back on the street!" Aijou yelled down the stairs. "See if I care!"

Shinichi let out a panicked yell. "No no no, thank you very much Aijou!"

Aijou nodded. "That's better." She walked back into the house followed by the others.

"Shinichi-kun!"

Shinichi barely had time to look up as he saw Erika falling from a hole in the ceiling. He braced himself to catch her, but never got the chance. Inuki leapt and slammed into Erika in mid air before landing softly on her paws.

Erika wasn't so lucky. She land on her backside in a flailing mass of limbs. "Owwie…that wasn't nice." She sat up and glared at the dog. "You stupid animal! Why'd you do that!?" She shrank back a bit as she saw the dog's sharp fangs became exposed.

"What was that noise?" Mai came down the steps and stopped as the dog growled at her. "_O-Onii-chan_?"

Inari and Hana also came into the foyer from the living room. "_Nani_?"

Hana shrank back as Inuki growled.

Inari how ever seemed to grin, revealing her own sharp, fang-like tooth. "So, _inu-chan_ thinks she can take on a _Kitsune_?"

"Inuki!" Shinichi yelled. Immediately, the dog was at his side, though still clearly on it's guard. Shinichi laughed nervously as the rest of the household looked at him expectantly. "She's a stray, and still a little shy. Just give her some time." He blinked as Aijou handed him a hammer and a handful of other supplies. "_Nani_?"

"She needs time? Fine. She can keep you company as you repair the door to the bath." Aijou ordered.

Shinichi let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to tell me to…" He smacked the hammer into his hand.

"Eww, gross." Aijou stuck her tongue out. "Why would you think that?"

"Well," Shinichi began. "The whole Goth thing you've got going…"

Kam nodded. "It does hint at the possibility."

"Oh no!" Hana brought her hand to mouth. "Ai-chan's a Goth? Is that contagious?"

"What's a Goth?" Erika asked as she stood. "Is it yummy?"

Mai simply looked around nervously and wrung her hands together.

Inari leaned back against door frame and closed her eyes, doing her best to look disinterested.

Aijou glared at all of them before she walked off muttering. "_Baka_, every single one of you."

Shinichi grinned. "She's so easy."

Kam laughed as well as he picked up some more supplies. "Come on, I'll help you out with the repair work." He followed Shinichi to the bath and laid the material down. Kam paused as he watched his friend.

Shinichi's eyes darted over the exposed wood work in a quick survey before he opened the door and entered the bath. Once on the other side, he again surveyed the damage.

"What are you doing?" Hana asked.

Kam turned, surprised to see the older girl. "I thought we were going to fix a hole, but now I'm not sure."

"We're not." Shinichi agreed as he lay his tools out on the ground. "This is my mess, I'll clean it up."

"You don't even know what your doing." Kam protested.

"Maybe not." Shinichi agreed. "But this is how I do things. My screw ups, my repairs."

Kam sighed and walked away. "Fine, have it your way."

Shinichi pulled out a saw and tried to round off the jagged wood. He stopped to look at the blade. "Is this thing properly sharpened?"

Hana came over and knelt beside Shinichi. "It's ok."

Shinichi blinked at her. "_Nani_?"

"It's ok to ask for help." Hana smiled. "It's not a sign of weakness."

Shinichi looked away. "Maybe, maybe not. But it's definitely not a sign of strength."

"Why would you say that?" Hana asked surprised.

"Because it's the truth."

Hana reached out to place her hand on Shinichi's shoulder, but stopped when Shinichi pulled away to continue his repair work. "I always thought that the truly strong people were the ones that weren't ashamed to ask for help." She whispered sadly as she stood and walked away. She had just passed into the next hallway when she heard the clang of metal. She leaned back and saw that Shinichi hadn't moved, but the saw was now on the far side of the bath.

"Tools?" Shinichi mockingly questioned, thinking that he was alone. "We don't need no stinking tools."

"_Ara ara_." Hana gasped as she saw Shinichi bring around his hand to cut a new clean edge on the already existing frame. She didn't gasp because of the quick chop though. She gasped because of the fact that Shinichi's hand glowed with black _ki_.

ooooo

Aijou looked up from her text book as she heard something rustling beneath her floor. She had inherited her mother's old room, along with the old hole in the floor. Too lazy to get up off her futon, she simply rolled over to the hole and pried the cover up just a bit.

"Mom will kill me if she finds out I went through these old files, better make this quick."

Aijou blinked. "That was Kam's voice. What's he up to?" She opened the cover a little more and leaned in for a closer look. She watched a few minutes more as her brother rifled through the various file folders until at last he pulled something from the folder with a triumphant laugh.

Kam opened the small black phonebook and scanned the pages quickly. "There he is." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number.

Aijou's brow furrowed in confusion. "_Nani_…"

"Iota-sensei?" Kam asked tentatively.

Aijou didn't recognize the name, and leaned closer to try to hear better.

"You probably don't remember me." Kam continued. "My name is Urashima Kam…_hai_, the son of the archeologist and the teacher…I'm well sir, as are my parents."

"Iota-sensei?" Aijou muttered. "Who is that?" Her thoughts were interrupted as Kam began to speak again.

"I hate calling like this, but I know you worked with my mom a few years ago, an I need to ask a favor." Kam paused. "What kind of favor? Well…A friend of mine, actually a couple of friends, need to get back in school but…yes sir, money is kind of tight."

"Kam…" Aijou whispered as she began to understand what her brother was trying to do. She smiled as she continued to listen.

"I remember my mother mentioning you before, that you helped her get a scholarship to go back to further her education." Kam continued. "I was wondering if you had any information that could help my friends…Really! Thank you sir! Oh, one more thing, could you not tell my friend about my involvement with this…it's a long story…thank you sir." His task complete, Kam hung up the phone. "Shinichi will kill me if he finds out."

Aijou smiled wider and closed the cover over the hole. "Wish I had thought of that." She rolled back over to her futon and continued to read until Mai called everyone for diner.

ooooo

With dinner completed, Mai took up her usual post at the sink and began to wash the dishes. She was startled as Kam stood next to her and began to dry and store the dishes as she cleaned them. "Y-you don't have to do that."

Kam smiled. "It's not a problem. You already made that delicious meal, you shouldn't get stuck with all the dishes too."

"I don't mind." Mai looked down into water. "It's the least I can do…"

Kam blinked. "Why do you say that?"

Mai handed the older boy another dish. "Cooking and cleaning is the least I can do to help out. After all, you and your sister opened your home to _onii-chan_ and I."

Kam shrugged. "Maybe, but…"

Mai looked up. "But?"

"You may be a bit to young to remember, but this used to be your home too." Kam smiled again. "If you think of it like that, all we really did was welcome you back."

Mai seemed to think it over for a moment. "This is my home too?" A small smile turned her lips up ever so slightly. "Thank you Kamali."

Kam blushed. "You don't have to thank me. And you can call me Kam if you want."

Mai passed over the last dish. "You…would prefer I call you Kam?" She asked tentatively.

"Well, someone gave me that nickname a long time ago. It just kind of stuck with me." Kam laughed a bit. "Everyone calls me that now. The only people that really still use my full name are my mom and my sister when they're mad at me."

Mai looked down at the floor. "That's to bad…to only hear your name on so few occasions."

"_Nani_?" Kam blinked as he pulled the drain for the sink.

Mai blushed a bit. "It's just…it's a very nice name. It seems like a shame not to use it." She paused a moment. "But if you like your nickname better, I will use that."

Kam could feel his face warm up a bit as he saw Mai blush. "Wow, no one's ever said that they liked my name before. I guess, it would be ok for you use that instead…if you want to."

Mai blushed a bit more. "W-whichever you would prefer."

Kam chuckled a bit. "It would be nice to hear my name when I'm not being yelled at." He smiled as Mai nodded happily. He tried to think of something more to say to her, but found he had nothing. He then wondered why they were both still standing in the kitchen even after the dishes were done. Mai was standing with her hands firmly clasped together in front of her, so firm in fact her hands looked like they were turning white. In stark contrast, her face seemed to be accumulating the excess blood as her cheeks flushed brightly. Could it be that she was waiting for him to do something? "You… want to go watch some TV?"

Mai nodded and followed a step behind Kam as they walked into the living room. "Ok."

Kam collapsed into the easy chair and picked up the remote. "Anything you want to watch?" He looked up at Mai, and was surprised to see that she looked a little upset.

Mai quickly sat on the couch that was closest to the chair Kam sat in. "Nothing in particular."

Kam nodded, a bit warily, as he thought that Mai's voice sounded slightly different now. He glanced over to her as he flipped through the channels for a few minutes before stopping. "Did I do something?"

Mai blinked, startled. "_Nani_?"

"You seem less happy than you did a moment ago." Kam explained. "I wondered if I did something to upset you."

Mai smiled and shook her head. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just fine, please don't worry about me." Her smile faded as Kam turned his attention from her to the TV again.

ooooo

"Have you seen Shinichi-kun Aijou?" Erika walked into the other girl's room without so much as a knock on the door.

Aijou was sitting in her window so that one leg dangled outside her room and her back was pressed against the frame. She turned her head at the blonde _gaijin_, but decided she was to tired to fight with her over barging into her room. "No, he said he had something to do after dinner."

"But dinner was hours ago!" Erika whined.

Aijou shuddered at the pitch of Erika's voice. "Yes, I'm aware of that." She sighed. "But that doesn't change the fact that I don't know where he is."

Erika crossed the room and bent at the hips so that her face was right beside Aijou's. Erika scowled at Aijou. "You're not hiding my Shinichi-kun from me are you?"

Aijou stood quickly, forcing Erika to back up. "Don't get in my face unless you want me to rearrange it."

Erika seemed to startle for a moment, but gained her composure again. "I knew it! You are hiding my Shinichi-kun!"

"I already told you that don't know where he is!" Aijou yelled back angrily. Her expression fell away as she sat down again. "If I knew where he was…I sure as hell wouldn't be sitting around here." She whispered more softly. She screamed as she looked up.

Erika had somehow moved across the room without a sound and was now crouched on the window sill along with Aijou. Erika's eyes were hard as she glared at Aijou. "You keep your hands off my Shinichi-kun."

Aijou looked away. "Y-y-you have it all wrong! That slacker is supposed to be doing the chores around this place to make up for not paying rent! But he hasn't done anything at all!" She made a fist and pounded it into her other open hand. "I'm going to have to remind him of agreement." She glanced back at Erika.

Erika's eyes were softer now, understanding, compassionate, but not accepting. "Well, just as long as that's the only reason you want to know where he is." She opened the window a bit wider and sat with her legs hanging out over the side.

Neither girl spoke for the next few minutes as the watched the front stairs.

Erika suddenly jumped. "He's back!"

Aijou looked down in a panic. "It can't be…"

"I'm going to be the first to welcome him back home!" Declared Erika as she jumped from the ledge to the ground below.

"You can't jump out the window!" Aijou protested. "That's cheating! Use the stairs like everyone else!"

Erika looked up as she fell and stuck out her tongue. She turned her vision back toward her landing. That was when she saw the three feet of steel hurtling toward her, and screamed.

For a moment Aijou was afraid that Erika might have been hurt, then she started laughing.

"This isn't funny! Erika squirmed from where she hung. "Get me down!" The katana had caught her shirt above the shoulder and now pinned her to the side of the Hinata-sou. She pulled at the sword in attempt to free herself, but couldn't manage any leverage in her position. She began to flail her arms and legs in a temper tantrum. "Somebody get me down!" Suddenly a hand grasped the hilt of the sword and pulled it out of the wall, causing Erika to fall the rest of the way to the ground were she landed on her butt. "Owwie…"

"You ok?" Asked a tired voice.

Aijou looked down from her window, and her laughter slowly died away. "She'll be fine. How about you? You look like hell Toshi."

The young cop smiled weakly and helped Erika to her feet. "It's been a long day. I thought I was being ambushed again. No hard feelings?"

Erika looked at her torn shirt grumpily.

"I'll replace that." Toshi offered.

Erika smiled. "No hard feelings then!"

"If you're hungry, Mai left a plate made for you in the fridge." Aijou called down.

Toshi shook his head. "No thanks, I'm just going to take a bath and go to bed."

"Oh…ok then." Aijou shrugged and pulled her head back inside. "Hey, wait. Did you say you were…" She stuck her head outside again. "Ambushed?" She looked around only to find that both Toshi and Erika were gone already. She sighed and sat back. Then she screamed.

"Must you be so noisy?" Erika complained as she stuck a finger in her ear.

Aijou blinked. "Where the hell'd you come from!?"

Erika pointed to a small hole in the wall that was closing quickly.

Aijou blinked again. "I didn't even know there was a tunnel there…"

Erika laughed and turned her attention back to the outside world.

Aijou also turned toward the stairs.

ooooo

"Oh, so this is where you went to Inari-_chan_." Hana climbed the stairs to the roof top deck.

Inari didn't turn from her view of the distant city skyline.

"_Ara, ara_." Hana walked over slowly to the railing beside Inari. "Is something wrong?"

Inari remained silent.

Hana sighed and looked out toward were Inari's attention was focused. "Is that smoke? Is there a fire?" She squinted her eyes as she got no response from Inari. "It's not to far into the city, if there is even a fire. It must be somewhere in the industrial district."

Inari slammed her fist into the railing. "Damn _Yamainu_!" Sparks of electricity flew off of her body as she leapt off the roof. She hit the ground running.

Hana watched as Inari ran toward the source of the smoke. "_Ara, ara_."

ooooo

Shinichi smiled. He was hanging upside down by his knees from a tree branch as he surveyed the area. "No one is here." He whispered gleefully. "Just hop the fence, scale the wall using the drain pipe, in through the window, and home free." He chuckled at the simplicity of his plan. He kicked his legs up and used the momentum of his fall from the branch to tumble in mid-air. He landed on his feet without a sound. "Ready Inuki?" He smiled as the dog yipped softly. He moved, swift and silently, across the short distance and leapt over the high fence. Inuki landed next to him and began to growl. "Crap! One of the girls are in here. That's the only time Inuki growls. "

A figure stepped forth from the steam that surrounded the hot spring bath. "Are you _Yamainu_ or _Kitsune_?" The katana glinted in the moon light. "It does not matter, you will regret following me into my home!"

"Katana? Toshi, wait!" Shinichi reacted with a grace that only comes from long and rigorous training. He watched as the figure charged, and moved to combat the assailant. He rolled out of the way of the initial strike and grabbed the towel that his opponent was wearing. He had barely wrapped the towel around his hand when he was attacked again. He blocked this attack using the towel and lunged forward with his other hand outstretched. He struck with an open hand and toppled the attacker to the ground. He stopped as he pinned the swordsman. "_Nani_…" His eyes went wide as he felt something soft and bouncy under his hand. "A girl?" His eyes went even wider as the wind blew the steam away. "Holy…"

"Y-you pervert!"

The next thing Shinichi knew, he was on his back on the ground in the main foyer of the Hinata-sou. He rubbed his jaw and traced his way across his face to his lips. He pulled his hand away and saw blood. "Ow…" He looked up and saw Kam and his sister looked down at him confused.

"Do I even want to ask?" Kam crossed his arms over his chest.

Shinichi sat up as he heard the clamor of feet racing down the stairs. "It was Toshi…"

"Toshi?" Mai asked confused. "Why would he do this?"

"Because…" Began Shinichi as he pointed to the broken bath door. "Awe man, I just fixed that!"

"So why did Toshi belt you?" Aijou asked.

"Huh?" Shinichi blinked. "Oh yeah. See for yourself."

"_Ara, ara_." Hana murmured as a towel clad figure stepped through the broken door.

"He's got…" Aijou began.

"I knew it!" Erika cheered gleefully. "His hands were way to soft!"

"Oh, man." Kam muttered. "This is daytime television material."

Mai wrung her hands nervously. "Toshi-san…"

Toshi glared at all of them. "Yes! Ok! I'm a woman!" She turned and stormed up to the stairs, she turned when she reached the top. "I'm taking my aunt's old room!"

"Ok." Aijou nodded passively.

Kam turned to Shinichi. "Did you know about this?"

Shinichi vigorously shook his head. He blinked as Aijou dropped a pile of goods in his lap.

Aijou looked at Shinichi. "It's your fault the door is broken again. Get to work."

Shinichi grumbled, but headed toward his task, then he paused. "It's getting late Mai, past your bed time.

Mai groaned a little. "Can't I stay up a little later?"

"You, bed, now." Shinichi affectionately ordered his little sister.

Mai groaned again and headed up the stairs.

Kam followed after her. "I'll walk you up."

Hana, Aijou, and Erika turned went back up to their rooms, leaving Shinichi to do the repairs.

ooooo

Aijou kicked off her covers and crossed her room. From there she made her way up the remaining flight of stairs and on to the roof and sat down.

"You are incredibly cruel." Shinichi informed her. "Making me repair the same door twice in one day."

Aijou laughed. "You're the one who broke it."

Shinichi smiled. "I guess. You couldn't sleep?"

Aijou shook her head. "I…was waiting."

"For Inari to come home?" Shinichi looked out over the city.

"She left?" Aijou was surprised. She had thought that Inari was just keeping to herself, but to run off? "I didn't know about that."

Shinichi turned a confused look on his friend. "If you didn't know about that, then what were you waiting for?"

Aijou blushed a bit, and hoped that Shinichi wouldn't see that in the dim light. "For…"

Shinichi leaned in as Aijou mumbled. "For what?"

"I was waiting for your music!" Aijou replied with a huff.

Shinichi blinked in surprise for a moment, then smiled. "Sorry, I don't have an instrument with me tonight."

Aijou looked down at the ground far below. "Too bad." She picked her head up as heard Shinichi humming. She knew that tune. Her mother and father used to sing it to her to get her and Kam to go to sleep.

"_Yane no ue de sora o aogu, hizashi wa uraraka_." Shinichi sang slow, but strong and clearly. He nudged Ajiou gently.

"_Miageru sora, koradji genki ga minagitteku._" Aijou sang, although less confident then Shinichi. She turned as she heard the roof creaking behind her.

Erika smiled at them as she sat between the other two. "That so wonderful! _Ikiterunda!_"

Below them they heard a window slide open. A moment later Hana's voice floated up. "_Yamerarenai, airier da nante._"

Shinichi turned as he heard footsteps land on the far end of the roof.

Mai was looking down but sang out clear. "_Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara. Futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi."_

"Nando demo yomigaaru, hana o sakaseyou." Kam grinned as he helped Mai over onto the roof.

Behind them Toshi stood, she still looked upset over the incident from earlier, but clearly not to the extant she was before. "_Omoide wa itsu mo amai nige basho._"

Below them on the stairs Inari slowly walked toward the Hinata-sou. "_Dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame_."

Shinichi nodded to Kam and the two boys lead the way. "_Sukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite._"

The girls followed up. "_Te o nobashite."_

At last everyone came together. "_Ryoute agete._"

ooooo

On the street below the Hinata-sou, three figures in purple robes listened as the song continued.

"A child of love." Remarked the first.

The second man nodded. "A child of honor."

"A child of darkness." Added the third.

"A child of devotion."

"A child of guilt."

"A child of ceremony."

"A child of duty."

"A child of unity."

The three men nodded and spoke as one. "The warrior is gathered, yet incomplete." They all jumped as a pail of water was thrown at their feet.

"Get out of here you old codgers!" Sarah yelled at them as she stepped out from the Tea House. She watched as the elders disappeared into the night. Once they were gone, she looked up at the Hinata-sou. "_Ryoute agete_." She frowned and went back inside. "I hate it when the old woman is right about this kind of crap."

End Chapter Six

ooooo

Rider: Ok then, everyone knows my closing by heart at this point, so please leave something if you have time. 'Till the next, live well all.

Star: Bye-bye boo!

Rider: Thank you Ami…

Star: What? I like that show.

Wraiths: (still in the corner with his gameboy)

Bio

Name: Kuramitsu Hana, age 16, daughter of Mutsumi and ???

Quick Facts: Like her mother she is sweet and clueless, but doesn't seem to have inherited her mothers fainting spells. She seems to have a much greater sense of insight to the other tenants of the Hinata-sou than one would expect for a person her age. Because the comes from a big family, she tends to act like a big sister to everyone, even if she is actually the younger person.

Name: Inuki, Shinichi's dog

Quick facts: Found as a stray and taken in by Shinichi. She is very protective of him, especially when it comes to the girls.


	7. Under Surveillance, A Second Gathering

Rider: _Konichi-wa Minna-san_! This update brought to you from Western Civilization 201, the class is should be paying attention to even as we speak.

Star (via AIM): What are you doing online _baka_?

Wraiths: (via AIM) He's slacking off. Can't you tell?

Rider: Shut up…I can't help it that history is boring as hell. And this is more productive then sleeping.

Star: I guess…

Rider: Who asked you?

Wraiths: Am I missing anything important?

Rider: We're reviewing for the test.

Wraiths: … (signs off)

Star: Idiot.

Rider: Anyway,

To KylaranAeldin, those were the lyrics as per the DVD subtitles and So, all I can say is either they got it wrong, I copied it wrong, or my spell checks auto correct is messing with me. Anyway, you sound like your more experienced with the language (I am trying to learn it between classes and work), so I'll trust your word. But I think the overall effect was reached for the story in any case.

To Shadic the Hedgehog Author, Arg! You put Shadow over True Blue! Arg! Sorry…I've been a Sonic fan since his days on the Genesis. I still miss the SatAm series from way back…If you don't know what I'm talking about, never mind. As for Sephi-boy, I haven't played FFVII but… didn't the dude kill Aeris/Aerith? I just can't see him as a hero, anti or otherwise. Oh well…to each their own.

To watanuki, glad you're enjoying the story.

Star: Where'd Wraiths go?

Rider: He's probably running across campus right now to get here for a review that's not taking place.

Star: That's evil in this weather.

Rider: Hey, he wants my notes? He can get his butt out of bed. (Turns to readers) See you at the end folks.

ooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter Seven: Under Surveillance, A Second Gathering

Aijou awoke to the smell of breakfast already being prepared. She groggily rubbed the sleep from her eyes and pulled her uniform from her closet and dressed. As she opened the door she tentatively placed on foot on the floor. "He waxed again." She slid herself across the floor as though she were ice skating. She laughed as she saw Erika slip as she came out of her room. She skated over to Erika and helped her up. "Haven't you learned to test the floors yet?"

Erika rubbed her back. "Well, Shinichi-kun should give us more warning when he does things like this!"

Aijou laughed, helped her friend to the stairs, and headed for the dinning room. As usual, breakfast was already prepared and on the table.

The front door opened and Kam entered. He took his seat and started to eat. "He ditched me again."

"You sound as though your surprised by this fact." Inari walked in and took her seat. "He's done that everyday for the last two months."

"Yeah, but…" Kam took another bite. "He supposed to be helping me learn the sets. He just leaves me the sets and disappears after seeing me start them. I don't even know if I'm doing them right."

Inari shot her hand forward toward Kam's head, only to be stopped by Kam's block. She shrugged her shoulders. "Seems to be working out well enough."

Kam blinked. "I didn't even think about it."

Mai skipped into the dinning room and stopped cold as her cheeks puffed up in anger. "_Onii-chan_!"

Aijou smiled. "Looks like he beat you to the kitchen again."

Mai sat and began to eat. "But I like to cook, and I never get the chance to anymore because _onii-chan_ always does it!"

Hana smiled as she entered. "_Ohaiyo_!"

Toshi followed close after. She didn't speak, instead she simply poured her coffee into a travel mug and left again.

"_Ara, ara._" Hana looked on worriedly. "It would seem that she stayed up all night searching the files again."

Aijou nodded. "She's going to make herself sick at this rate." She turned her attention back to her breakfast just in time to see a pair of chopsticks make a hasty retreat. "Erika! Eat your own food!"

Breakfast concluded and Aijou grabbed her coat and shoes from by the front door. As she pulled up her coat she saw the bento box. She shook her head and placed it in her book bag. She knew that Shinichi made bento boxes for everyone, but she still liked the gesture. She waited for the others and soon everyone was off to school. Aijou sighed as they went their separate ways and boarded her bus.

She made herself comfortable for the hour long ride ahead of her. Ever since that night they all sang together, Shinichi had been different. It was true that he did all the chores now, but they never seemed to see him anymore. He had applied to Kam's school and gotten enrolled there along with Mai thanks to the scholarship and a few forged documents from Sarah, so the others got to at least see him in school, but that didn't do her much good. For the first time she could remember, she was jealous of Erika and Hana, both of whom had transferred to the same school. She didn't worry so much about Inari going because Inari hated Shinichi. Aijou shook her head. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

She knew what was wrong. She only got to see Shinichi for maybe a couple of hours a night. Her best friend from both childhood and now didn't seem to have time for her. She felt the tears trying to form and fought against them. She wasn't about to ruin her make up just before school. She got off the bus and headed for her first class.

ooooo

In the trees outside of Aijou's classroom stood a figure in a black trench coat. It made a note of when, where, and how she got to class. It also noted who she interacted with throughout the day. It never interfered with her, nor made any attempt to move against her. The Master's wishes for him to simply watch had been quite clear, and it had no choice but to obey his Master's wishes.

ooooo

Kam dribbled the soccer ball down the field toward the goal. He sighed as he saw the upperclassmen heading toward him. His school had limited space, so the different grades were forced to share field space during many of the activities. On such activity was the gym class he was in right now. He cursed his small size and contemplated if he should pass the ball to avoid the world of hurt heading his way in the form of three seniors. He looked around and saw that his classmates were all staying out of range. "They don't want to face the seniors either…" With a sigh he raced forward.

"Left." Kam whispered to himself. He broke right as the defender moved to the left. Kam blinked. "I read his move?" He scooped the ball up on his foot and avoided the next defender's slide tackle. Kam smiled a bit as he faced the last defender. He juked left and then dashed right. It was monetary, but the moment of uncertainty was all Kam needed to get past the senior. Kam lined up for the shot and stopped as he looked past the goal net and on to the adjacent courtyard. He fell to the ground as the defender behind him hit him with a slide tackle. With a grumble he left the field as his gym coach ordered him to the sidelines.

He sat on the bench and rubbed the back of his head. He wasn't really hurt, he endured more from Shinichi during training and his sister when she was in a bad mood. He sighed and leaned down to hold his head in his hands as he turned his attention back to the other field.

Mai ran across the tennis court with her racket in hand and volleyed the ball back across the net.

Kam continued to watch as she went on with the game. At home she was always so quiet and demure, but at school she seemed more like her brother. Not too much like him, but she was a bit more assertive, more competitive. Kam wondered briefly if Shinichi had given his sister any kind of training like he was taking as she seemed very sure of herself athletically.

"Urashima! Heads up!"

Kam took his eyes off of Mai as one of his classmates called out to him. Unfortunately, he did not react quite fast enough as a softball collided with his forehead and knocked him backward off the bench. He lay there on his back as the softball rolled off of his head and waited for the laughter that came a moment later from the other students. He sat up and grinned sheepishly at the audience of laughing faces. As he turned though, he noticed that one face wasn't laughing at him. In fact, she seemed quite concerned for him.

"Are…you…ok?" Kam read Mai's lips from across the field. He smiled and nodded to her. He looked away as he realized that what he was doing could be interpreted by his classmates as flirting. Since Mai was younger then him, it was probably not a smart move. He looked back and saw that Mai was already being hounded by some of her classmates. "So much for that idea."

The bell rang and class ended. As Kam entered the locker room he heard Shinichi's voice laughing as he talked to the other people already showering. He walked up next to his friend and gave him a gentle punch in the arm.

Shinichi turned. "Hey man."

Kam nodded as he opened his locker to get his change of clothes. "You were missed at breakfast this morning."

Shinichi sighed. "Sorry, had to get here early to get some help in my history class."

Kam nodded again. "I see." He paused as he saw a group of seniors come up and start messing with Shinichi before moving along. "What was that about?"

Shinichi laughed. "I had softball today and I smacked this great homerun. Won the game for my team." He grinned nervously. "I think I hit some poor schmuck on the other field though."

Kam brought his fist down into the center of Shinichi's head.

Shinichi rubbed at the bump. "What was that for?"

"Retribution." Kam shook his head as Shinichi looked confused. Kam glanced at his watch. "We should hurry, the girls will be waiting."

Shinichi sweat dropped. "Uh, about that…"

"You have to stay after again!" Kam was in a state of disbelief.

Shinichi bowed his head. "Sorry." He finished changing and shut his locker. "I can't help it that I'm not as smart as the rest of you."

Kam sighed. "Alright, I'll tell the others…again." He parted ways with Shinichi in the hallway and headed for the main entrance of the school where the others were waiting. "Ready?" He frowned at the disappointed looks on the faces of Mai, Erika, and Hana, but everyone turned and headed for the bus station.

"I'll catch up with you guys tonight." Inari informed them as she headed back into the school.

"In-_chan_?" Hana called. "Where are you going?"

Inari didn't turn. "This way."

Kam sighed, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer. "See you." With that he turned and lead the way back to the Hinata-sou. Unaware that there was dark shadow following them all the way.

ooooo

After leaving Kam, Shinichi ducked into an empty classroom and then exited again from the window. He walked slowly across the back fields to the bus stop behind the school. He didn't board the bus though, didn't even seem worried as the bus closed it's doors and slowly pulled away. Shinichi then jumped and landed securely on the back bumper of the bus. He waved to the shocked motorist in the car behind the bus as he balanced himself and pulled out a textbook. He flipped through the first few chapters and began to read as he traveled to his destination.

All the while he was watched by a set of unseeing eyes.

ooooo

Aijou sat on the bus and looked out the window taking a half-hearted interest in the events happening outside. School had been a wash today, she couldn't seem to focus on anything at all. Her lunch period had been especially bad. Aijou had never really made any friends in her class, but there were a few people that she usually had lunch with. It would seem they were sick today, because she had been forced to eat alone. She sighed and watched as she saw girls in school uniforms walking along the street outside, laughing and enjoying the time with their friends. She continued to watch them, even going so far as twisting in her seat as the bus pulled away from the curb until she could no longer see them.

She pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through the list of contacts in her phonebook. There were surprisingly few, and she found the one she needed very quickly, entered it, and waited for the line to pick up.

"_Moshi moshi_…" Came the voice over the phone.

Aijou smiled at the familiar voice. "Hi dad." She paused as her father expressed his happiness over her calling so suddenly. "Dad? I have a question…No, I'm not in any trouble, well not anymore…Nothing! Why did I call? Well…would you be mad if I told you I didn't want to go to my school anymore? No! I'm not dropping out! I just…I know how hard you and mom worked so I could go here but…I want to transfer…"

ooooo

Inari walked around the town ignoring the strange looks she was getting from the people on the street. She was still dressed in her school uniform, but she had her leather jacket on as well. She made a mental note to pack a change of clothes for after school from now on. She looked up at the setting sun as her stomach growled at her. "I've been out for a long time…maybe I should head back home. She looked around again and was shocked to see just how far from the Hinata-sou she really was.

It wasn't the first time she had simply went walkabout and ended up somewhere other than where she had intended. She wasn't lost either. Before she had taken Kam's offer to move in, she had been all over the country, and always knew where she was. From here it would be an hour by bus, even longer if she walked. Her stomach growled again. Deciding that she didn't want to wait until she got home to eat, she found a small café and sat down at the nearest table. She looked through the menu on the table and tried to find something she wanted.

"Good evening miss." Greeted the waiter as he came over to the table. "How can I help you this evening?"

"I'll have…" She looked up at the waiter and froze. She almost laughed when she saw the look of terror on the waiter's face. "Ass?"

Shinichi was as pale as ghost. "What are you doing here?"

Inari leaned back in her chair and smiled. "Well, well. So this is where you've been running off to after school."

Shinichi looked around nervously. "S-shut up."

Inari then realized that Shinichi wasn't acting like himself. She smiled. "They don't know you're a student, do they?"

"Would you shut up!" Shinichi whispered forcefully.

Inari laughed. "I'll have the beef bowl special." She looked around as she handed him the menu. "And take your break. You and I need to talk." She sat by herself for a while as Shinichi placed her order in the kitchen and brought it back out.

Shinichi sat down across from her, looking very nervous. "What do you want?"

Inari began to eat, savoring both the meal and the fact that Shinichi was squirming before her. "Now, how long have you been working here?"

"Since we found out Toshi was a girl." Shinichi didn't dare take attitude against Inari right now, she had the upper hand. "I was sneaking back in when she attacked me."

"Two months then." Inari looked around. "No soda?"

Shinichi sighed and stood. "What kind?"

"Root beer." Inari grinned as she watched him carry out her bidding.

Shinichi placed the glass before her and sat again. "Anything else?"

Inari sipped her drink. "You work in the mornings too?"

Shinichi nodded.

"Why are you working like this?" Inari set her glass down and locked her eyes on Shinichi's. She wasn't sure how she felt when Shinichi didn't flinch from her gaze, but she felt that some of her previously felt power over the situation was now gone.

"Because I have to." Shinichi replied without taking his eyes away from Inari. "I'm responsible for Mai right now. I got lucky that financial aid helped get us enrolled, but I can't count on that again."

"Don't you have any money saved up?" Inari asked.

Shinichi paused. Did Inari's voice just get softer? "Of course I have money saved up, but I can't use it." He sighed as Inari motioned for him to go on. "It's in my bank account, but I can't access it or else my parents will know where I am and will come to take us home."

Inari turned away. "And that's a bad thing?"

Shinichi didn't move. "It is right now…for me anyway."

"I don't get you."

Shinichi turned and saw a few tears on Inari's face. "Inari?"

"Your parents actually give a damn about you, and you ran away?" She rubbed the tears away from her face.

Shinichi sighed. "I don't expect you to understand, but yes, that's exactly why I ran."

Inari glared at him, but her anger fell away quickly. "I guess we all have our reasons."

Shinichi blinked. "_Nani_?"

Inari finished her meal and placed her money on the table. She sipped at her drink idly as Shinichi returned with her change.

He sat again and studied Inari's posture. "You ok?"

Inari nodded. "Yeah, and don't worry." She laughed as Shinichi blinked. "Your little secret here. I won't tell anyone about it."

Shinichi blinked again. "Thanks, but why so nice all of a sudden?"

Inari smiled. "There's a rule on the street. Always be at zero."

"I don't understand." Shinichi shook his head.

"It means if someone does you a favor, make sure you pay it back." Inari pulled on her jacket to remind him.

Shinichi turned away with a muffled grunt. "Kam wasn't supposed to tell you about me helping."

"Don't worry, your secret's safe." Inari grinned. "Ass."

Shinichi smiled a bit. "Klepto." He turned as three men in business suits came into the café. "Back to work I guess."

Inari stood. "Hey. Being responsible for Mai means more than simply having enough money." She sighed as she saw the confused look in the young boy's eyes. "You really should come home more often."

Shinichi recoiled as though he had been physically struck. "I…" He bowed his head. "I see. Thanks, Inari."

Inari nodded, though not really sure what she was being thanked for.

"Maehara."

The boy turned to the sound of his manager's voice. "_Hai_? Miss Kanno?" He tensed as he saw that the three men in suits were in the back office.

Miss Kanno placed an envelop into Shinichi's hand nervously. "Take your friend and take the rest of the night off."

Shinichi frowned as he heard the nervous treble in her voice. "Is everything…

"Get out!"

Seconds later Shinichi and Inari found themselves outside the establishment and turned to face each other.

"Those men…" Inari peered in through the window just before the blinds were pulled shut.

Shinichi pulled Inari away from the window. "If it's what I think it is…better that you don't get involved."

Inari made a face at him. "I can take care of myself."

Shinichi nodded. "I don't doubt that, but it's better if you don't have to." He shook his head as he saw her about to question him. "I'll figure it out tomorrow. Let's just go for now." He started to walk away and Inari followed suit. "So…did Kam say anything else? You know, just so I don't make a fool of myself if I try to hide it?"

"You make fool of yourself on a regular basis." Inari quipped. She laughed as Shinichi stuck his tongue out at her in jest, and considered what she should tell him. "When I asked him why you guys helped me, he said it's because we're practically family." She shook her head at the idea. "Scary thought, _ne_?"

Shinichi nodded, but smiled playfully. "Yeah, you and me related? I'm not sure I could take it." He ducked as Inari attempted a playful punch to his head. "I bet Mai wouldn't mind having a sister though."

Inari shook her head. "If I was her sister, I'd have to be your sister too. I don't need that. _Demo_…"

Shinichi picked his head up a bit. "_Demo_?"

Inari turned away a bit. "I suppose if we were cousins it would be ok…" Her eyes darted to Shinichi.

Shinichi caught the movement, but didn't let on. "Cousins huh?" He paused as though to think it over. "I guess that could work." He smiled as he saw Inari let out a small, and what she probably thought was a secret, sigh pass her lips. "Come on cos, we have people waiting for us at home." He smiled a bit at the unexpected turn of events.

Inari hit him over the head with her book bag. "What are you grinning about? You better not be getting any funny ideas."

Shinichi walked on as he felt the bump on his head rising, and tried to not loose his temper. "No…I'm not."

ooooo

Hana sat at the dinning room table with her digital camera and sorted through the various photos.

"Whacha got there?" Erika asked as she came up behind Hana. "Ohh! A digi-cam! Can I play with it? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

Hana nodded and handed over the small silver camera to Erika. "Just don't delete anything. I haven't had a chance to download them yet."

Erika quickly scrolled through the features and files. "Hey? What's that?"

Hana leaned over and saw the picture she had taken of Shinichi and Inuki on the street on the first day they met. What Erika was pointing to though was in the background. "I don't know."

Erika grabbed Hana and ducked into one of the Hinata-sou's many secret passages. After a few quick turns they emerged atop a tree branch in Erika's room. "We can use my computers to figure out what this is."

Hana looked around the room. "It always amazes me that you can support so many plants in this one little room."

Erika brushed a few stray leaves from her keyboard and docking ports to plug the camera in. "I can't take all the credit. Aunt Su did most of the work a long time ago." She called up the photo in question in her editor. "See? Back here?"

Hana looked at the zoomed area. She hadn't seen it before when the photo was taken, but there in the shadows of a nearby alley was a figure in a hooded black trench coat. "Can you zoom any more?"

Erika entered the commands and the face blew up to fill the screen. "It's still really dim, the flash must not have been bright enough to reach that far." She tapped a few more keys and the picture increased in brightness.

"Stop!" Hana leaned over Erika's shoulder. "She looks familiar, but I can't tell from where."

Erika saved the modified picture and studied the face of the red-haired woman. "Who ever she is, if she hurts my Shinichi-kun, I'll hurt her."

"Now now, no need for violence." Hana admonished as though scolding a small child. "She may just be someone caught in the photo by accident after all."

ooooo

Toshi stood on the roof and let her sword fall again, adding two more half leaves to the pile before her. She turned as she heard footsteps behind her.

Kam looked back and forth between the young woman and the dead leaves. "Your very precise in your movements."

Toshi nodded. "Precision is key in a sword fight, however…" She picked up the leaf pieces and held them out to Kam.

Kam took the leaves and studied them in confusion until he realized what Toshi was trying to show him. "They aren't in equal halves. They're very close, but you can see the vein on one side still intact."

Toshi nodded. "My concentration has been…divided as of late."

"You mean since we found out you were a girl?" Even as Kam asked the question he saw Toshi stiffen.

"_Hai_." She whispered softly.

Kam was surprised at how upset she seemed by this fact. He opened his mouth to try to say something comforting, but lost the chance.

"The chief took me off the case today." Toshi informed him. "It's only a temporary measure. He feels I've been working myself to exhaustion lately."

Kam nodded. "You have looked more stressed lately."

"I work well under stress." Toshi turned to face Kam fully. "I can feel that I'm sitting on the answers I need to break this case wide open."

"Maybe you're to wound up to see the answer." Kam suggested. "A few days to clear your head may help you to see something you missed before." He frowned as Toshi continued to remain silent. "There's something more, isn't there?"

"My skills with the sword have reached a plateau, if not regressed." She pulled her sheath from her brace and handed it over.

Kam looked at the clean and perfectly polished sheath. "I don't understand."

"I told you that I met Shinichi a few years ago at a kendo competition." Toshi sat as she recounted her memory. "I had just lost to his father for the championship. I didn't stand a chance. I was in the court yard meditating on my loss when I heard someone sit next to me."

Kam sat down next to the reminiscing samurai. He nodded for Toshi to continue.

"He said he had never seen someone as strong as me." Toshi remembered. "Said he wanted to be like me when he grew up." She smiled. "I didn't know who he was at the time, and I felt so honored that he held me in such high regard. I asked him if he wanted to spar with me, to test his skills. He couldn't say yes fast enough." She took back the sheath and ran her hand over the metal. "We fought to a stand still until the last charge…I fell first."

Kam shook his head. "I still don't understand."

Toshi handed him the sheath again. "When we faced each other back then we were nearly equal. I was so embarrassed, losing to a little kid. I told myself that I lost because I had just fought in a match against his father. But…" She looked over at the sheath in Kam's hands. "Now it is clear we are worlds apart in skill level."

"You're going to have to explain this to me." Kam finally told her.

"When I first came to the Hinata-sou, Shinichi and I sparred again." Toshi reminded him. "He took my sheath and used it to deflect my attacks, even used it as a weapon to attack me."

Kam blinked, still confused.

"Look at the sheath." Toshi instructed. "There isn't a single dent, scratch, of mark of any kind on there."

Kam's jaw dropped as he realized the idea that Toshi was trying to get across to him. "He must have angled the sheath each time so that it met flush to your blade, this is…" He paused as he glanced at Toshi.

The young woman sighed. "It is a level of skill and precision that I have yet to match."

Kam handed back the katana sheath. "With enough practice, I'm sure you could reach that level."

"I don't know…"

"I do." Kam cut her off suddenly. "Before Shinichi showed up, I had no skill at fighting, now I'm pretty good. If I can pick it up this quickly, I have no doubt that you can do what you want to."

Toshi smiled. "You are an inspirational person Urashima."

Kam grinned. "I try." He stood and grabbed a handful of leaves from a overhanging branch. He nodded to Toshi.

The swords woman sheathed her sword and nodded. Her katana whipped out as Kam threw the six leaves into the air, and quickly sheathed again. She smiled as she saw the twelve even pieces fell slowly to the roof. "I feel better now." She walked slowly to the stairs. She stopped just before she passed Kam. "Thank you." She bent down a bit and kissed Kam on the cheek. "Perhaps we could train together some time."

Kam rubbed his cheek in shock as he watched Toshi walk away. He was lucky that Toshi didn't look back, or she would have seen him craning his neck to enjoy the view a bit to much. Once he felt his face cool down, he also left the roof.

ooooo

Something rustled in the trees and a shadow slide from the trees to the roof of the Hinata-sou. As it came into the light of the moon, it took the form of a person in a black hooded trench coat. "Come."

A second shadow in a hooded trench coat darted out from an unseen location. His presence seemed to put a charge into the air.

A third form was carried forth by the branches of the trees, which seemed to grow and move like living creatures.

The forth figure floated up from below the roof on a pillar of air.

A fifth figure walked up slowly from the stairs. Every step it took seemed to leave an ashen, singe mark on the ground.

The first figure smiled. "And so the Avatars gather again. Though we have lost much, we are stronger than ever before. This time our victory is assured." The moonlight reflected off of the figures teeth beneath the hood as he smiled. "But now is not the hour to strike. Oh no…we will strike when the devastation will be greatest." Though no sound was heard, he turned.

The other members of the group tensed as a sixth, and final, figure approached them. Unlike the others, this one wore no trench coat.

The first figure smiled as he saw the others react with such apprehension to the new arrival. "Remove your hands from your weapons, and rejoice. This one is one of our own. Already leaving a mark on the children of the ones who shamed us in the past. The betrayal of their friend will break them, and we shall be victorious." He turned to the newest arrival. "This one will be the key to their downfall, and our rise to power." He raised his hands. "Now, return from where you came, and await my summons."

All but the first and last figures remained as the others vanished. The one without the coat seemed to turn it's head.

"Why are we doing this?" Asked the first. "It is simple, it is our destiny. Through our actions, the world will be made again, perfected. And we shall rule over it all." He smiled. "But that is for later, for now sleep, and await my instructions." He placed his hands upon the shoulders of the shorter figure. "And know that I am very proud of you and the work you are doing."

The smaller figure smiled at the words, though only a small smile, before silently returning to the Hinata-sou's interior.

End Chapter Seven

Rider: Ok, I think things are finally underway.

Star: This feels different than the first story.

Rider: It's supposed to.

Wraiths: (sneaks in through the back door of the lecture hall) Did miss anything?

Rider: I don't know what you mean.

Wraiths: (looks at the notes) I hate you.

Rider: Blah, blah.

Star: What's going on? How come you went idle?

Rider: Don't worry about it. We're out of here. (Turns to the readers) You guys know the drill. Please tell me what you think of the story so far. Till the next, live well all.

Star: Bye!

Wraiths: Later people. (Steals Rider's notes) Gimme those!


	8. Sleeping Dreams, Waking Nightmares

Rider: _Konichi-wa Minna-san_! I hope all are well. Sorry about the delay, this was supposed to be up a week ago, but school and work and celebrations distracted me. So I'll make this fast.

Star: Good. We don't want hear you talk anyway. We're just here for the story.

Wraiths: Rider? What did you do to piss her off?

Star and Rider: Nothing!

Wraiths: O…k…

Rider: Anyway, mail stuff.

To KylaranAeldin: Sorry about the misspell. And no, my system can't view the hiragana, I just get those little box things. But, the line about unseeing eyes verses unseen eyes…it's written exactly as it's supposed to be. It'll make sense later. And no, I won't forget the readers.

To Keitaro's clone, thank you for the support.

To watanuki, you are so close, and yet so far. It'll be explained later.

To Hanku Royiaki, you too, are very close, yet very far. The connection is much closer than you probably realize. And what are you talking about with no one surviving the Hinata crew's strike? Are you referring to the Avatars? Or the rest of the clan? In any case, it was mentioned when Ken and Haruka had their discussion in the last story just before Ken vanished. Just in case you want to look back a bit.

To Nerakka, just in case you're here reading, thanks for the review on the other story, I think I just may incorporate that idea into this story.

To anyone who's reading and not reviewing, I hope you're enjoying the story.

Rider: Ok, I think that covers everything.

Star: Good. Move on.

Wraiths: Come on man. What did you do?

Rider: Shut up.

ooooo

Change of Hearts

Chapter Eight: Sleeping Dreams, Waking Nightmares

"_Onii-chan_!"

The scream loud enough to wake the entire household, and filled with enough fear to fill their veins with ice.

This was doubly so for Shinichi as he ran for his little sisters room. In his haste, he threw the door wide open, knocking it from it's track. "Mai!" He raced across the room to where the little girl sat on her futon, a shivering, sobbing mess. As soon as his bare knee hit the futon he knew what was wrong.

Mai turned and grabbed for her brother even as she felt his arms surround her protectively. She sobbed into his chest, completely unaware of the other members of the Hinata-sou entering her room.

Shinichi didn't say anything, he simply held the trembling child until she began to calm. He nodded in thanks as Hana kneeled down next to Mai and placed her hand on the younger girl's back, which seemed to help her calm down. Shinichi turned his face toward his sister's now that she would sit back enough to let him see her. "The dreams again?"

Mai only nodded, and looked down at the floor.

Shinichi lifted her face gently. "It's ok." He picked her up gently, much like one would hold a small infant, and left the room.

Aijou watched confused as Shinichi carried Mai slowly down the hall to the old private bath. She noticed something else too. Shinichi had only been dressed in a pair of boxer shorts and she had a clear view of his back. The was a single long mark that ran across Shinichi's back diagonally. Aijou turned as she heard someone sigh.

Erika was also watching Shinichi. She turned as she saw Aijou's disapproving look. "What? There's nothing with enjoying the view. He has a cute butt."

Aijou turned away and saw that the others were in a state of confusion over what had happened to Mai. That was, everyone was confuse, except for one person.

Hana gathered up the sheets and futon into a bundle. "Kam-_kun_? Could you please get me a bucket of warm, soapy, water while I put these in the laundry?"

Kam nodded and walked off.

Aijou's curiosity was now piqued, and she decided to follow Hana. As Hana put the sheets in the wash, Aijou saw what Shinichi and Hana had already understood. "Mai must have been really scared if it caused her to wet her futon at her age."

Hana nodded. "She did this once or twice while I was in America with her." She lead the way to Mai's room. "She has these terrible nightmares where she says she hurts her family very badly. For someone as sweet and innocent as Mai-_chan_, that is fear on a level most people are lucky enough to never know."

Kam looked up from his scrubbing as the girls walked back into the room. "I…uh…thought I should get started. You know, before it…uh…"

Aijou smiled at the way her brother was blushing, it was almost as though he was trying to protect Mai from embarrassment even now after the secret was out. "Good job Kam."

Toshi, naturally falling into her role as an investigator, opened the window and stuck her head out. "There's a foul smelling wind in the air, but I don't see anything that would have scared her. I'm going to go take a look around outside, just to be sure." Fastening her sword to her shoulder strap, she left the room.

Erika walked down the hall and knocked on the door to the private bath. "Shinichi-kun? Mai-chan? Are you ok in there?"

"Yeah." Shinichi called through the door rather than open it. "Mai's just washing her face to get rid of the tears, we'll be out in a little while."

Erika returned to Mai's room to wait, but Inari handed her something.

"Mai's going to need a change of clothes." Inari explained.

Erika nodded and returned to the hall way. "Shinichi-_kun_? I have something for Mai-_chan_."

Shinichi opened the door a little bit to see Erika's offering. His hand reached out and took the clothes. "Thanks Erika."

Erika waited outside the door until it opened. She smiled weakly at Shinichi as he came out of the bath still holding the shivering little girl and walked with them back to Mai's room.

Shinichi stopped as he saw that Kam, Hana, and Aijou had already cleaned up. He nodded in thanks. "Mai's still kind of nervous and since her bedding is in the wash, she's going to stick with me tonight." He turned and started to walk away. "It's late, you guys can go back to bed, I'll finish cleaning tomorrow morning."

"We have it." Hana replied happily.

Kam nodded and picked up the bucket. "Yeah, it's already done."

Shinichi nodded. "Thanks again." The others began to walk out as well as he left.

As Aijou walked past she felt something grip her hand tightly. She looked down to see that Mai had taken her hand. She smiled at Mai and gave the little girl's hand a squeeze. However, as she tried to go back to her room, Mai refused to let go of her hand. She looked quickly between Mai and Shinichi. She questioned Shinichi silently about what to do, and was relieved to see him nod. She followed them into the boy's room.

Shinichi opened the door to his room with his foot and crossed the room to his closet to retrieve his futon from where it was rolled and stored.

Aijou bent and began to unroll the futon, seeing that Mai refused to let go of her brother, or perhaps Shinichi was the one who wouldn't let go? Aijou couldn't really tell. She dusted off the thick layer of dust from the top of the futon, giving Shinichi a quick glance at the same time.

Shinichi shook his head to avoid the question. He set Mai down onto the futon and pulled the covers around her and sat beside her. He smiled his thanks to Aijou.

Aijou tried to stand and leave for her own room, but Mai refused still to let her go.

Shinichi saw this. "Mai? You have to let Aijou go now." He frowned a little bit as he saw her shake her head, the fear returned to her eyes.

"It's ok." Aijou sat down on the opposite side of the futon from Shinichi. "I can stay."

Mai smiled and pulled Aijou closer while moving to make room on the futon.

With some hesitancy, Aijou got under the covers. She gently stroked the blonde's hair, calming her.

Mai turned and held out her other hand to her brother.

With a small sigh, Shinichi also ducked under the covers so that Mai was now between he and Aijou. "Better?"

Mai nodded with a small, sleepy, smile. She snuggled up against her brother and placed her head on his shoulder.

Shinichi nodded. "Good. No more bad dreams now." He watched and waited until Mai was asleep soundly. "Aijou? You can probably leave now if you'd like."

Aijou nodded and tried to do just that, and felt Mai's grip on her hand tighten to the point she thought her fingers would snap off. "I think I'm here for the night."

Shinichi nodded and rolled over a bit, trying to find a comfortable position as the futon was not designed for three people. "Sorry about this."

Aijou blushed a little bit, hoping the lack of light in the room would hide that fact. "It's ok." She looked around and saw the reflections of the dim light off of Shinichi's eyes. He was studying Mai's sleeping form. Aijou could see that there was movement under Mai's eyelids, a clear sign that Mai was still dreaming. She also saw that Shinichi seemed to be quite worried about Mai. For some reason she couldn't explain, she felt a little twinge of jealousy.

Shinichi looked up at Aijou. "What's wrong?"

Aijou jerked a bit. "N-nothing."

"Your heartbeat changed." Shinichi stated without warning. "Something must be bothering you."

"What? You can hear my heartbeat?" Aijou didn't believe him.

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, can't you hear it?"

Aijou thought for a moment. "I can feel it, mostly in my fingers cause of Mai's grip, but no I don't hear it." She paused. "And I definitely can't hear yours."

Shinichi shrugged. "Weird. So?"

"So?" Aijou asked confused.

"Your heart beat changed." The boy repeated. "What's up?"

Aijou sighed, knowing that Shinichi wasn't going to let this go. "I'm a bit jealous of how close you and Mai are. Kam and I were never like that."

Shinichi smiled. "You guys are more like that then you realize.

"_Onii…chan_…" Mai fidgeted in her sleep. "Please stay…"

Shinichi looked away from Aijou toward Mai. He gently stroked her hair.

Aijou listened as she heard Shinichi begin to sing. The song was in English and she couldn't understand what he was saying, but she could sense the intent. She watched as Mai's breathing evened out and her rapid eye movements slowed dramatically. Without intending to, she felt her own body respond to his voice and slowly fell into the dark oblivion of sleep. She didn't notice the fact that Inuki came up from the corner of the room and nestled against her feet.

ooooo

Kam made his way to the back grounds of the Hinata-sou and stopped. "I don't believe it." He walked up to where Shinichi and Inari were sparring. "I thought you two were mortal enemies."

"We are." Inari spun and whipped her fist around toward Shinichi's head. "But since I don't have the chances to fight like I did on the streets I need to find my kicks wherever I can."

Shinichi easily blocked Inari's attack, and frowned. "You keep attacking wildly." He ducked under Inari's guard and struck with an open palm to her belly, pushing her back. "Every action must have an effect, make sure the effect works to your advantage. Wild actions just exhaust you, actions with purpose win the battle." He turned. "Hey! Kam! You going to stand there all day or you and your partner going to join us?"

Kam looked around. "Partner?"

"I think he means me." Toshi walked up from behind him. She held her _bokken_ instead of her katana. "I thought we might spar a bit. But I didn't realized there would be others here as well."

Inari lunged at Shinichi again. "Move with purpose huh?" She summoned her _ki_ around her fist and punched again. As she expected, Shinichi dodged, and she quickly shunted her electricity down her body and into feet. She let the momentum of her punch carry her forward and planted her hand in to the soft soil. She spun in her handstand and landed two charged kicks to Shinichi's chest, and flipped back to her feet. "How was that?" She smirked.

Shinichi rubbed his chest. "Better."

"Better!" Inari fumed. "Only better!"

"Yes, only better." Shinichi replied as he lowered himself into an attack stance. "You know why?"

Inari countered with a defensive stance. "Why?"

Shinichi struck with an open palm to Inari's stomach again, followed by a sweep kick to her ankles. As Inari fell, Shinichi grabbed her shirt to hold her up like a puppet on a string and brought his opposite hand to a knife-edge thrust toward her face. He stopped his hand one-half inch from her eye. He stood Inari back up and stepped back to bow to her.

Inari bowed, grudgingly, knowing that the spar was over. "So? You going to tell me what I did wrong?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Kam?"

"You each made three moves." Kam remembered his observations. "Inari, your moves were the charged punch, the elaborate attack shift, and the charged kicks. Shinichi's moves were an open thrust, a sweep, and finishing blow."

"So?" Inari questioned.

"Your moves are to strenuous." Toshi explained. "You are reckless and you rely on you _ki_ to much. You expend yourself to quickly, where as Shinichi moves only enough to complete the task. He can last longer in a battle and recover quicker after attacks."

Inari started to reply and stopped. "I see."

Shinichi nodded. "Now, how do we do this?" He looked around to the other three people. "Partner up, or just practice solo or…" He grinned a bit. "Or you guys want to band together against me?"

"Three on one?" Kam scratched his head. "You sure your up for that?"

"I have no idea." Shinichi admitted. "But it's to good an opportunity to test myself to pass up."

Inari, Kam, and Toshi all exchanged glances, smiled, and nodded.

Shinichi grinned. "_Yosh_." He dropped into a defensive stance as the others surrounded him. "You guys can't hold me back."

"We'll see." Inari grinned as she looked over at Kam. "Ready."

"Steady." Kam shot a glance to Toshi.

Toshi drew her _bokken_. "Go!"

Shinichi closed his eyes as the others rushed in at the same time. He opened his senses and began to sort through the sensations he could now use. He heard the fall of his opponents footsteps, he could hear their breathing. The crackle of Inari's electricity. The swish of Toshi's blade. Kam's muttered grumbling. He sorted past all of that and heard what he was searching for. Three low dull throbs that were separate, yet together, in the rates at which they pulsed.

Toshi was the first to reach her quarry, her sword reflected the pre-dawn light of the moon as it arced out toward Shinichi. She gasped as Shinichi moved past her with surprising grace and hit her in the back with an open palm. The added momentum sent her head long into Kam.

Shinichi bent backwards so that his hands and feet both touched the ground to avoid the spinning kick that Inari had launched at him. He pushed with his hands and stood up again. He blocked a round punches and caught her fists, one after the other.

Inari attempted to fight her way out of Shinichi's grip with a few kicks, but Shinichi blocked them with his own legs. She growled at him. "If you're going to play around, at least open your eyes! That way we think you're taking us seriously!"

Shinichi threw Inari off to the side as Kam now came up behind him. Shinichi jumped and back flipped over Kam.

The two boys now stood back to back, and though they appeared as polar opposites, their movements were mirrored perfectly. They turned and immediately the battle began. Left hands reached out for a grapple, only to be broken by the block performed by the right hand. Each struck at their opponents midsection, the resulting collision of fists resulted in a momentary flash of _ki_. They broke apart and spun until their forearms locked against one another. They pressed harder but found that neither would give an inch.

Again they broke and faced off. Kam's eyes burned with determination to win, while Shinichi seemed to be half asleep. They charged again, trading punches and kicks in a furious flurry that made it difficult to follow each move clearly.

Shinichi pushed Kam out of the way and rolled to the side as Toshi's practice sword nearly skewered them both. His hands came up and caught Inari's foot as it descended toward his head. He turned her and caused her to fall to the ground. As she fell he caught her between his legs in a scissor grip. The intention had been to hold her until she submitted, but Shinichi was forced to let her go as Kam attacked.

Kam felt something well up within him and race down his arm. He made to land a finishing blow to where Shinichi lay on the ground.

"_Kuso._" Shinichi heard a change in the pulses that raced around his body. He threw Inari out of the way again while diving for his own cover just as Kam landed the punch into the ground. The explosion sent the _ki_ waves out in all directions, and Shinichi absorbed a great amount of the blow into his back.

Toshi sat up and dusted herself off. "I did not know we were going to be using such force in this spar."

Inari sat up with a groan. "And you said I was reckless with my _ki_?"

Kam shook his head to clear his vision. "What just happened?"

"You blew us up!" Inari yelled as she leapt to her feet.

Kam stared, dumbfounded. "Yeah, but how?"

"It would seem that your training has helped you to awaken your control of your _ki_." Toshi surmised.

"You think so?" Kam looked around. "Shinichi? Is that possible?" The dust had settled mostly, but there was no sign of Shinichi. "Shin?" He turned as he heard something in the distance groan. "_Oi_! Shinichi!" He ran over and helped the tan boy up. "Oh! Damn! I'm sorry!"

Shinichi blinked. "About what?" He looked down and saw that his shirt on his back had been reduced to shreds, revealing his large scar. "Oh. That?" Shinichi shrugged with a grin. "I've had that since I was a baby. It's no big deal."

Kam blinked as he tried to remember seeing that scar before Shinichi left the Hinata-sou so many years ago. "Guess I forgot…" He sighed with relief. "I thought I had hurt you."

"You are strong." Shinichi admitted. "Stronger than I thought you'd become in such a short time, but like I said." He grinned smugly. "You guys can't hold me back."

Kam punched his friend in jest. "Says the man who just got his ass blown off!"

Shinichi punched Kam back, just a little harder. "You just surprised me. It won't happen again." His stomach growled loudly, and he looked around at the others. "Call it for now?" He smiled as the others nodded in agreement. "Great! Let's see what Mai made for breakfast!"

Kam pushed Shinichi and broke into a run. "Hey look! I surprised you again!"

Shinichi stared a moment, then gave chase. "That's cheating damn it!"

Inari watched as the two boys raced home and traded blows. "Hey? Toshi? Did you see it?"

Toshi nodded. "Kam's not experienced enough to read _ki_, but you and I are." She frowned and placed her practice sword back into her belt. "Shinichi's scar was throbbing with _ki_ as black as death after he took Kam's hit." She brought her hand to her chin in thought. "But was Kam's blast the origin? Or was it Shinichi's reaction that began it?"

The two women turned and returned to the Hinata-sou in silence.

ooooo

Sarah entered the tea shop and began to open up for the day. She turned on the coffee pots, set the tea kettles on the stove, set out the pastries, all the things that she usually did. Yet, this morning, it felt hollow. Something was wrong. Something was out of place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened them again a moment later as she heard the little bell over the door ring, alerting her to the customer's entrance.

Her eyes narrowed as she forewent the standard greeting. "What are you doing here?" She sighed and shook her head. "Scratch that. I know why you're here. We have a lot to discuss. Where are the others?"

"They did not accompany me." The woman shook her head. "In truth that is part of the reason I am here."

Sarah disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. When she returned she held a pot of coffee and two large mugs. "Now." She began to pour the two drinks. "Start explaining just what the hell is going on."

ooooo

Erika entered the school courtyard and looked around for her friends. Her eyes lit up brightly as she found them. "Shinichi-kun!" She skipped across the courtyard landed with a plop behind the boy and wrapped her arms around him.

Shinichi nearly gagged on his lunch as Erika grabbed him. "Come on, knock it off." He struggled to get out of her grip. "People are staring at us!"

Erika leaned forward and lay her face against Shinichi's back, enjoying the warmth see felt there despite the chilly fall weather. "I don't care. I love you Shinichi-kun. I don't want to hide that fact."

Shinichi jumped. "L-love?"

"Yep." Erika held him tighter.

"I…I…"

"Erika, let him go before his head explodes." Inari commented as she took another bite of her lunch.

Kam began to laugh as Shinichi. "Your face is all red!"

"_Urusei_!" Shinichi threw his empty bento box at Kam.

Kam caught the metal bento box and laughed.

Hana placed her drink on the table. "Have you guys heard?"

"Come on babe! Just one date."

Kam turned toward the sound of the voice. "I see that Kimihiro is up to his usual garbage."

Shinichi nodded. "I hate that guy. Thinks he's such a ladies man, and all he is, is an ass."

"So your too similar?" Inari commented with a laugh.

Shinichi glared at her. "That was uncalled for." He turned his attention back to the spectacle across the courtyard. "I can't see who he's trying to make a move on from here. Who is it?"

The others shook their heads.

Hana suddenly gasped. "Oh my, I hope it's not the new transfer student I heard about."

"Transfer student?" Shinichi asked as his brows furrowed slightly. He stood. "I'll be right back."

Kam watched in confusion. "_Nani_?"

Mai was watching as well. "We moved around a lot when we were little. _Onii-chan_ got teased a lot whenever we started at a new school."

"Oh crap." Inari groaned. "He's going to go play the knight in shining armor…" She paused and grinned. "I have to see this. Hana, give me your camera."

"Come on baby." Kimihiro continued to try to work his magic. "It's just one little date. I won't bite, unless your into that kind of thing."

The girl turned away. "Get lost slime bag."

Kimihiro reached out to grab the girl's hand. "Hey! I'm the most popular guy in this school. A newbie student like you should be happy to get a chance like this. I just want to show you a good time."

"I had no idea you felt that way."

Kimihiro backed off as he saw that he had grabbed on to a hand of much darker skin tone. "Maehara!"

Shinichi feigned a blush. "I didn't know you were so interested in me that way." He laughed as Kimihiro's pale face turned red with anger. "The lady doesn't seem interested. Might want to take the hint and back off."

"This doesn't concern you Maehara." Kimihiro moved to push Shinichi aside to get to the girl. "A little boy like you wouldn't understand these kind of things."

Shinichi grabbed the other man's wrist. "Just cause you're a senior classman doesn't mean your smarter then me, or that I even have to respect you, which I don't, but I'm trying to be civil about this." His eyes narrowed. "Take a hike."

Kimihiro backed off, slowly. "You picked an enemy today Maehara."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He waited until the senior left and started to turn to the girl. "Sorry about that. Just ignore that moron. We're not all like that here."

"Are they more like you?" Asked a familiar voice.

Shinichi turned quickly. "What are you doing here!"

Aijou grinned. "Now, is that any way to greet a new student?" She laughed at the dumb look on Shinichi's shocked face. "I transferred here… so I could be with my friends."

Shinichi watched as Aijou smiled. He couldn't help but think that this was the most genuine smile he had seen from her since he'd moved in. It seemed to be infectious and soon a large smile had spread across his face as well. Suddenly the world went white and Shinichi was stumbling around the court yard blindly. When his vision cleared, he saw Inari holding Hana's camera. "I hate you."

Aijou laughed as Inari walked away. "So…" She helped Shinichi to his feet. "You going to show me around this place.

Shinichi nodded. "Sure, but…"

Aijou raised an eyebrow in question.

"Does this make me your _sempai_? Or are you mine?" Shinichi asked.

Aijou pushed Shinichi toward the lunch table. "Just go."

ooooo

Inari was waiting at the front door of the school for the others. She had already changed her cloths to her street attire of jeans, tee-shirt, sneakers, and leather jacket. Her head lifted as she heard Aijou yelling at Shinichi for something. "You're actually coming home today?" She questioned Shinichi.

Shinichi shook his head. "I have to get some help in biology. I just wanted to see you guys off."

Inari's face remained impassive, even as she knew he was lying. She nodded. "I could use some help as well in bio."

Shinichi seemed to become upset by her statement.

Inari knew that they were talking about something completely different than the words they spoke, to keep the others in the dark. "Is that a problem ass?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Do what you like." He mussed Mai's hair, and forced a smile. "I'll see you guys later." He turned and walked away with Inari beside him.

Aijou felt her cheeks becoming hot with anger.

Kam saw the change in his sisters personality. "He goes for tutoring every day." He stated as calmly as possible.

"Not with Inari he doesn't!" Aijou fumed as she followed after them.

Kam and the others raced after Aijou into the classroom where they all stopped.

Erika looked around. "Where did they go?"

"Perhaps they went to another classroom?" Hana suggested.

Mai wrung her hands nervously. "This isn't like _onii-chan_."

"Has he done this every time?" Kam whispered to himself.

Aijou stood at the front of the classroom, trembling in anger. "I'll kill him!"

ooooo

Shinichi sneezed and shivered.

Inari gazed at Shinichi. "Something wrong?"

"Probably." Shinichi shrugged and jumped off the back bumper of the bus.

Inari followed suit. "What are we doing?"

"I called Kanno-_san_ this morning, to see if I needed to come into work." Shinichi frowned. "No one answered."

Inari looked on confused.

"She opens the café an hour before I arrive every morning." Shinichi explained. "Something's wrong. I'm sure of it now."

"You think those suits had something to do with it?" Inari stretched her arms over her head.

"You saw the guys that were at the shop." Shinichi stopped at the front window and placed his face against the glass. "You know who they were, just like I do."

Inari nodded. "You need my help."

"No, I don't." Shinichi moved to circle the building. "I don't need your help and I don't want your help. It's going to be tight enough watching my own back, let alone yours. If things get to dangerous, I want you to pull out." He stopped as he heard the rear door creak open and pressed himself against the wall out of sight. He pushed Inari back as well.

Three men in dark suits exited the building along with Kanno-_san_. The first suit sat in the diver seat of the waiting limo. The second suit opened the door, motioned the restaurant manager inside, and followed after her. The third suit entered the car from the other side.

Shinichi ground his teeth. "Typical." He turned to Inari. He knew even if he tried to out run her she would follow after him. He held out his hand. Inari took it and held it tightly. "_Kokuei-ryu_, Shadow Walk." He ran over and grabbed the wheel board he used to move heavy shipments and threw it toward the car. He nodded to Inari.

She jumped at the same time as he did and landed on the board in a crouch. She grabbed the back bumper of the car with her free hand as she saw Shinichi do the same. "Did they see us?"

Shinichi shook his head. "The Shadow Walk hides us from their sight."

Inari blinked and saw the tendrils of dark _ki_ that wafted around them both. She shivered. She couldn't explain why, but the darkness felt as though it was alive. "Where are we going?"

Shinichi shrugged. "I guess we'll find out when we get there."

The skitched behind the limo for over an hour, until they arrived in Tokyo. Shinichi motioned for Inari to let go of the bumper and they rolled to a stop a few blocks away from the restaurant at which the car stopped.

Inari watched Shinichi worriedly. His breathing was too labored. Shinichi must have seen her look, because he turned to her and straightened up.

"I've never sustained a Shadow Walk that long." He began to walk toward the restaurant. "We're losing them."

As the reached the main entrance they saw more men in suits. Shinichi took Inari's hand again and surrounded them with his dark _ki_. In a moment, they were into the building and into the employee only areas. As soon as they were out of sight, Shinichi released the veil and collapsed.

"Damn it." Inari helped him to stand. "No more of that. Your going to hurt yourself."

"I'll be fine." Shinichi grunted. "Lets go, the scent is getting faint."

"Scent?" Inari was shocked to see Shinichi stand on his own and move with powerful strides.

Shinichi nodded. "Kanno-_san's_ perfume, and her fear." He lead the way for a time until they reached the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a set of oak double doors. "Scent ends here."

"_Ano_…Shinichi?" Inari tapped at the boy's shoulder franticly.

Shinichi saw the shadow to late to react. He turned just in time to see the giant man in the suit's fist slam into his temple. The last thing he heard was Inari's body fall to the floor as the suit struck her as well before his world went black.

ooooo

Rider: So? What do you guys think? As always, comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else is welcome to my mailbox, so please send something if you have a moment.

Star:…

Wraiths: Dude! What did you do?

Rider: Let's just say I pulled a Keitaro…

Wraiths: Pulled a Keitaro? Holy crap! You walked in on her in the buff didn't you?

Rider: It was an accident!

Star: An accident… my ass.

Rider: Did you see how much booze Wraiths poured down my throat at that party! It wasn't my fault!

Star: Whatever.

Rider: I give up. Till the next, live well all.

Wraiths: Later people.

Star: Bye.


	9. Self Destruction

Rider: _Konichi-wa Minna-san_! I hope all are well. Apologies for the delays, but tests and papers and such got in the way.

Star: At least your stuff is all done.

Rider: I plan ahead. I can't help it if you don't.

Wraiths: Ok, lets go! I want to find out what happens!

Rider: You've been eating sugar again…(sigh) Oh well, moving on.

To Hanku Royiaki, if you liked preview, you should enjoy this chapter.

To KylaranAeldin, don't worry about trying to overcorrect. I'd rather hear that then have you not say anything at all.

To fatmadcow aka hatsu hara souma, glad you like the story. Thank you for the complement, but Akamatsu-sensei is way out of my league. As for the comic your trying make, I'd love to see it if you do make something. Please e-mail me so I can see it if you get the chance.

To, All who read and don't review, I hope you enjoy this.

Rider: Special note, Star pre-read part of this and yelled that I made it to dark. I told her she's crazy, but I promised I'd put this warning in. So, here it is. Now, please read and enjoy.

ooooo

Disclaimer: Yeah, Wraiths beat me over the head with volume one of the LH manga until I promise to put this in here so we don't get sued since I forgot before. I don't own Love Hina in any way, shape, or form. All original characters are property of me and the voices in my head. I don't own the music or lyrics to Atreyu's The Crimson either.

Change of Hearts

Chapter Nine: Self Destruction

Aijou was sitting alone in her room at the window when the door began to slide open. "Go away Erika." She sighed as the door continued to slide open, however, Erika didn't enter the room.

Aijou blinked as Inuki slowly crossed the room and jumped up into the window as well. Aijou wasn't sure what to make of the strange occurrence as Shinichi's dog never came near her unless the boy himself was around as well. Aijou watched as Inuki lay down on the wide window sill.

Aijou heard Inuki whimper to the empty stairs. She lay her hand on the dog's head. "You want to know where they are too don't you?" She sighed and gently pet the dog.

ooooo

On the floors below, Mai was waiting at the front door. She almost jumped out of her skin as someone snuck up behind her and a coat was placed on her shoulders. She turned with a small, forced, smile. "Thank you Erika."

Erika smiled and nodded. "No sign of him yet?"

Mai shook her head. "Every time I hear a twig snap, or a shadow moves a bit, I rush out thinking he has come home." She sighed dejectedly and sat down on the front stoop. "This isn't like him to stay out so late, at least…not without even calling."

"You mean he's done things like this before?" Erika asked worriedly.

Mai nodded silently.

Erika sat down behind Mai and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Well, try not to worry to much. Shinichi-_kun_ knows how to take care of himself. I'm sure he's fine."

ooooo

Hana stood on the roof and looked out over the city. "Shin-_kun_…In-_chan_…" She brought her hands together at her chest and bowed her head, as though in prayer. She lifted her head again a moment later. "Please be safe both of you."

ooooo

Toshi placed her folders back into the cabinet. She stood and stretched her back. "Another box of worthless papers." She sighed as she stuck the cases back into the closet of Keitaro's room. "This is getting tiresome. I know the answer is here, I can feel it."

She opened the door and exited the room, but rather than return to her own room, she stopped at the top of the stairs. She looked down and saw Mai and Erika sitting at the front stoop. "I guess the others aren't back yet." She sighed and sat down on the top step. "I have tomorrow off, I'll wait up for them for a bit."

ooooo

Kam stared at his text book, but it may as well have been written in ancient Sumerian for the amount of information he was actually focusing on. He left the book on the table and went to his open window.

He stepped up, balanced carefully on the window ledge, and jumped to the nearby tree branch. Climbing up the branches he soon reached his secret spot where he went to think. It was really nothing more then a large branch with a knothole in it, but when it was your only place of true privacy, it was special. He sat in the knothole and crossed his legs the way that Shinichi had taught him and began his meditation. He soon found he could concentrate on his thoughts no more than his math homework.

He leaned back against the tree trunk and stared out toward the stars. "Damn it Shin. Where the hell are you?"

ooooo

Inari woke slowly as she felt someone gently stoked her cheek. Her vision was blurry as her eyes first opened, but she could see enough to know someone was looking down at her.

A soft, warm, but sad, smile greeted her. Light brown eyes seemed to fill with relief at seeing Inari respond. Short, sandy, brown hair shook slightly as the woman sighed, or was she crying? "I'm so glad your ok."

"Mom?" Inari blinked and her vision cleared. She sat up with a violent start from where her head rested in the strange woman's lap. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman swallowed hard and bowed low so that her head touched the ground. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to get anyone involved with my problems. That's why I kicked you and Shinichi out the other night."

Inari's head hurt with the sudden movement. "Kanno, right?" She sighed as the manager nodded. "Just a dream…"

"Excuse me?" Kanno asked nervously.

Inari's expression hardened. "Nothing." She stood. "You have a first name?"

"_Hai_. It's Yukimura."

"Well, Yuki." Inari bent next to the only door in the windowless room. "Where's the ass?"

Kanno-san blinked. "The ass?"

"Shinichi." Inari explained as she pressed her ear to the door. She saw the managers expression fall into despair. "Well?"

Yukimura swallowed hard. "I'm not sure. Mishima's enforcers took him away when he tried to protect us."

"Protect us?" Inari questioned as she sat back against the wall next to the door.

Yukimura nodded again. "You've been asleep since they brought you in, but Shinichi awoke. When the enforcers came for us Shinichi tried to fight them off." She began to cry. "They beat him unconscious again and took him away."

Inari took a deep breath as she watched Yukimura cry. The image brought up unpleasant memories. Memories of another woman with short, sandy, hair crying because of uncertainty about the future. She shook her head to clear the image from her mind, except it wouldn't leave. "So, we have to find him too."

Yukimura picked her head up a bit. "_Nani_?"

Inari pressed her ear against the door again. "I don't hear anyone in the hall. I'd say its time to leave."

Yukimura stood and walked over to Inari. "But how?"

Inari placed her palm on the lock. "Like this." Electricity sparked along the length of her arm and down into the lock. She smiled at the older woman as something popped inside the door. A puff of smoke escaped the keyhole as Inari took her hand away. "Come on."

They exited the room and pressed close to the wall to try to avoid being seen. Not really knowing where to go, they turned at random corners only to find more endless hallways.

Inari studied the surroundings. If someone spotted them, there wouldn't be much room to maneuver for a fight. Fortunately there were many pipes along the walls, some of which were probably gas mains, so anyone who found them wouldn't risk using a gun and causing an explosion. At least, that's what Inari hoped. Even that was a cursed blessing though, because it would also limit her _ki_ abilities. After a few more minutes of walking Inari and Yukimura reached a stairwell, and had to make a choice. "Well, Yuki? Up or down?"

Yukimura looked around nervously. "_Ano_… I think…"

Both women turned as they heard heavy foot steps on the metal stairs above them. Inari grabbed Yukimura's hand and dragged her down the flight of stairs just enough to be able to see who was coming down. They both stopped breathing for a moment as two suits crossed through the door and into the hallway they had just come through.

Yukimura sighed and slid down against the wall.

Inari grabbed Yukimura's hand again. "Don't relax now. Now the danger is really on." Inari began to run up the stairs. "They're going to find out we escaped any minute. We have to find Shinichi and get out of here." Throwing caution and concealment to the wind, Inari ran full speed up the stairs with Yukimura in tow.

"There they are!"

Yukimura looked back down the stairs and saw the suits coming for them. "They found us!"

"Run you idiot!" Inari dragged the frightened woman behind her, but Yukimura was frozen solid in fear and refused to move. Inari saw the suits gaining on them quickly. She shoved Yukimura behind her and held her hand. "Please let this work." She whispered. Inari bent low and placed her palm flat against the metal landing. With a cry she loosed her electricity into the stairs, using the metal as a conductor, and directed it toward the men chasing them. When she stood up again, she smiled down at the unconscious and smoking enforcers. She turned to grin at Yukimura, and began to laugh.

Yukimura looked confused. "_Nani_?"

Inari shook her head and she stared at the other woman's hair. "Holding hands protected you from my electricity. But your hair, you've just got a whole lot of static frizz going on now." She opened the door to the next hallway and stopped cold as she stared down a steel gun barrel.

The third suit motioned for them to come forward and began to march them down the hall. "Boss wants to see you two."

As Inari came to the double doors from before again, she felt her stomach tighten up. She nearly lost her lunch as the door opened. "Shinichi!"

Shinichi sat in a simple steel chair in the center of the plush office. His hands were tied behind the chair, immobilizing him. Beneath the chair was a large plastic tarp, covered with Shinichi's blood. He looked up as he heard Inari's voice. "Hey, Klepto? You ok?"

"Yeah, Yuki is ok too." Inari shuddered as she saw Shinichi's face, swollen, bloody, and broken. "You ok?"

Shinichi grinned despite the pain. "Of course. You and our friends back home hit me harder then these losers do."

"Your bravado is admirable." The chair behind the desk spun around slowly revealing a man with close cut black hair, pale skin, squinted eyes, glasses, and dressed in a three piece suit. "But I am tired of it."

Inari focused on the new man. "You must be Mishima."

The man smiled. "Indeed. I am pleased to see you know who I am, my reputation must be spreading." His smile turned into a cynical sneer. "Unfortunately for you, that means you'll have to die as well."

Inari ground her teeth. "You damn Yakuza dogs all think you're so tough. Put the guns away for a moment and we'll see how you fair."

Mishima's eyes narrowed further. "This one has a mouth on her as well." He nodded to the enforcer in the suit. "Dispose of them all."

Shinichi began to laugh. "You're still an idiot Mishima." He smiled as the Yakuza head turned in his chair. "You kill us and you're still out, what? Ten million yen? That's not going to make the Yakuza heads to happy with an under boss like you."

Mishima felt a bit of sweat going down his back. "How do you know about that?"

Inari blinked as Shinichi answered in a language she didn't understand. "What is he up to?" She whispered.

Mishima shook his head. "I don't believe you."

Shinichi grinned. "I don't care if you believe. You have two choices, I beat you all and walk out that door with my friends. Or you can get everything set up and I'll see to it you get your money and all is forgiven."

Mishima glared at Shinichi, then turned to the guard, and nodded. Mishima hit the speaker phone on his desk. "Get the car ready. We're going to the cage." He paused. "And get me two more _hitokiri_." He hung up and pointed at Inari and Kanno-_san_. "Take your friend and follow me."

Inari moved to lash out at the small man, but stopped, not because of the gun clicking, but because of a voice.

"Don't cos." Shinichi warned. "It'll be ok. Just don't do anything stupid."

Inari nodded and helped to support Shinichi as the Yakuza enforcer released the ropes which bound him. "So what did you say?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Not now." He took Inari's hand and lowered his voice. "Zap me."

Inari looked at him incredulously.

"Don't argue." Shinichi insisted. "Just do it. However much you can without tiring yourself out."

As Inari released her _ki_ in Shinichi's palm, she felt that she didn't have to support him as much. After a few minutes walk in silence to a garage they entered the limousine. Shinichi entered on his own without her help. She watched as he fell asleep in the car despite the mob boss, three hit men, and the two women he shared the cabin with. She looked out the windows as the car pulled away until one of the guards placed a blindfold over her eyes.

ooooo

A figure in a hooded black trench coat watched from the roof of the tall office building across the street as a limo pulled out of the restaurant garage. A smile crossed his face as he pulled cell phone from his pocket. He dialed and brought the device to his ear.

"Kyoto Police? Detective Hajime please." He waited as the other line connected, only to be forwarded to a remote line. "Detective, there is a Yakuza cage fight this evening. Find it, and you may find a clue to your case is there."

"Wait! Who is this!" Toshi's voice called over the speaker.

The man extended his hand with the phone over the edge of the building, and let go. He was gone before the cell phone hit the street and shattered into pieces.

ooooo

Aijou was startled awake as she heard Inuki growl. She looked out the window she was sitting in, and saw someone running down the front stairs. "Toshi?" Aijou rubbed the sleep from her eyes as Inuki ran out of the room. "What's going on?" Climbing down from the window she ran after Inuki only to find the dog waiting for her at the front door. Aijou watched as Inuki ran out the door. Taking a deep breath, she followed after the dog.

When Aijou reached the street she saw no sign of Toshi or Inuki. "Damn it…" She hissed. "Inuki? Inuki? Hey? Stupid dog…" She focused her attention up the street as she heard a dog bark. "I hate this dog…" She ran up the street and saw a familiar face getting on to the bus. "Toshi! Wait up!" Sprinting the final distance Aijou got onto the bus as well.

"Aijou? What are you doing here?" Toshi was dressed in her police uniform, making her shocked expression look out of place against the rigid cut of the suit.

Aijou held up her hand up for a moment's reprieve to catch her breath. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked you first." Toshi pointed out.

Aijou glared at her. "I'm not the one sneaking around like a thief!"

"Scary…" Toshi shirked away. "I got an anonymous tip on my case…"

"Ladies! Get the mongrel off my bus!" Yelled the driver.

The girls looked down to see Inuki waiting patiently at their feet.

Toshi flipped her badge to the driver. "That's my drug search dog." She looked toward Aijou. "And this is her field handler." She took back her badge from the driver. "Now, head for Tokyo, no stops. I'm commandeering this vehicle for official police business." She turned back to Aijou. "Ok, you have my reason. Now you."

Aijou twiddled her fingers. "I'm just following you."

Toshi sighed and pulled out her cell phone. "Fine, tag along, but don't interfere with anything."

Aijou smiled. "Who me?"

Inuki placed her paw over her own snout and whined.

Toshi sighed as she dialed her contact in the Tokyo City Police Department. "There goes my promotion."

ooooo

"Wake up." Ordered the Yakuza hit-man.

Shinichi opened his eyes and yawned loudly. "Watch who you're shoving pudgy." He yawned again. "Oh man Mishima. I've slept on rocks that were softer. I would think someone with your money would get some comfortable seat cushions." He paused and mockingly laughed at the mob under boss. "Oh wait, you don't have the money anymore."

Mishima ground his teeth and nodded to the other hit-men. "Get them inside."

Shinichi grinned as the first suit moved toward him. He kicked the man in the stomach and shattered the man's nose with the heel of his palm. He then threw the large man's unconscious body at the second hit-man while palming the assassin's gun. He spun and pointed the gun at Mishima while flicking off the safety. Shinichi nodded to the third, and only conscious suit. "Drop it or you're going to need to find a new employer."

The suit laid his gun on the ground.

Shinichi smiled. "Good, now over here." He motioned for the suit to get over to his side. "On your knees." When the man was in position, Shinichi clubbed him in the back of the head with the butt of the gun. "Inari, take the other guns." Shinichi removed the clip from his pistol and threw it as far away as possible before going face to face with Mishima.

The under boss was sweating bullets. "What are you going to do?"

Shinichi smiled brightly, as though nothing had just happened. "Exactly what I said I'd do. I'll get you your money, and you release Kanno-_san_'s debt." His smile faded. "But we do it my way. Threaten my friends again, well…" He looked at the three fallen guards. "I think you get the idea."

"_H-hai_." Mishima nodded. "This way."

Inari came up next to Shinichi. "You seem strangely familiar with this atmosphere now." She looked him over. "You recover quick."

"I have you to thank for that." Shinichi bowed a bit.

"Shinichi?" Yukimura stepped forward, she looked down at the ground. "Is that true what you said? About my debt?"

Shinichi nodded.

"Why?"

Shinichi shrugged. "There are rules." He started walking into the dimly lit warehouse.

"Rules?" Inari asked.

Shinichi nodded again. "Something someone taught me. Always be at zero."

Inari blushed brightly, but stayed quiet.

Shinichi took one of Inari's guns. "You know how to use this?" He nodded as Inari confirmed his question. "Good." He handed it back to the girl. "If he tries anything, shoot him."

"Where are you going?" Yukimura asked.

Shinichi turned as the group came to their final destination. "Welcome to The Cage ladies." The room set up like an arena of sorts with the center area cordoned off with a chain link fence and barbed wire. "I had hoped to never see a place like this again."

"Again?" Inari asked.

Shinichi shook his head. "Long story, and not a proud one." He turned to Mishima. "Go place your bet." He started to walk away. "I have to get ready."

ooooo

"Damn it!" Toshi slammed her fist into the brick wall. "Another dead end!"

"Do you need help finding something?"

Toshi nodded. "Yes Erika. I need to find…Erika!"

Erika waved at the older woman. "Yo!" She pulled out a small laptop computer from her back pack. "What are we looking for?"

"How did you…" Toshi began.

"You and Aijou are very noisy when you rush around. You woke everyone up." Erika tapped her keyboard impatiently. "Now what are we looking for?"

"Did you say 'everyone'?" Toshi's shoulders slumped. "My life has turned into a bad sitcom."

"Don't be so melodramatic." Aijou laughed. "We'll make it an adventure."

"This is my job!" Toshi screamed at them.

Tears began to well up in Mai's eyes. "I thought we were looking for _onii-chan_."

"We will." Kam comforted the small girl.

Toshi looked around. "Hana didn't come?"

"We lost her again?" Aijou complained. "Inuki? Can you find Hana again?" She smiled as the dog trotted off.

Toshi shook her head again. "Erika, we're looking for a Yakuza Cage fight. Know anything about it?"

Erika clicked at her computer. "Got it! There's one in progress on the other end of the city."

Toshi stared at the silver haired girl. "Well…then…let's go!"

ooooo

Shinichi stood leaning against the fence that made up the cage, watching as the other combatants beat each other into pulp with the same detachment one uses to watch paint dry. He wore only his black training pants, and could feel the barb wire at his back. He leaned on it just enough to feel the pressure of the metal, but not break the skin. All around him, he heard the cheers of the crowd as people yelled encouragement to the people they had placed the their bets on. He tuned them out as much as possible. He instead tried to listen to the music the DJ played.

His attention turned as some poor fool tried to attack him. Shinichi grabbed the man's wrist in one hand and twisted. He then brought his knee up into the man's forehead once before dropping him to the ground. He then returned to studying the other fighters.

Most were simple street brawlers and gang bangers, attracted by the promise of a large cash prize if they won. There were a few that had skill, but most were relying on their ability to ignore their own pain. A few other fighters were clearly assassins for the Yakuza, entered to balance the scales in a sense, so that the money was simply recycled rather than paid out. Shinichi ignored these for the most part unless they tried to make a play for his hide.

Shinichi's attention was focused on the figure in the hooded black trench coat in the shadows. Shinichi hadn't moved much since entering the cage, but this man hadn't moved at all. No one had even approached him. It was as though the other fighters couldn't see him at all. Shinichi already knew that this would be the one that he would fight for money to pay of Kanno-_san_'s debt. He couldn't explain why, but Shinichi was filled with anticipation by that fact.

He looked up into the seats that surrounded the cage. Instantly, he found Inari, Kanno-san, and Mishima. He grinned as he saw the awkward position Mishima sat in, and wondered if Inari had one pistol or two pressed against the mobster's ribs. He turned as he heard the slow, even, foot steps in the center of the cage. He was not surprised to see the man in black waiting for him with the remainder of the fighters unconscious or possibly dead. He walked slowly to the center of the cage to face the man.

Now in the light more, Shinichi was surprised to see that his opponent was about the same size as he was. He brought his hands up, placing his right fist into the left open palm, and bowed. He stood, again not surprised when the other fighter didn't move.

They stood facing each other with less then two feet separating them, yet neither shifted into a combat stance. Outside the cage, the crowd was growing restless. Some taunted the final two fighters, but one person decided to throw his sake bottle. As the glass shattered against the metal fence and fell to the ground, the fighters reacted at last.

The cloaked fighter launched a left punch, followed by a right kick.

Shinichi's hands darted out and easily stopped both attacks. He leaned forward and head butted the man's hooded face. "He's slower then I thought." Shinichi realized. Taking advantage of the man's staggering, Shinichi crouched and kicked his opponents legs out from under him. He then leapt into the air and prepared to leg press the other man. Just as his foot landed, the man rolled out of the way, and Shinichi's foot kicked a hole into the concrete floor.

The other man stood and turned to Shinichi, beckoning him to attack.

Shinichi paused. "I see, you were going to evaluate me the same as I was trying to evaluate you." He grinned. "This could be a good fight. I know you're holding back, and so am I. What do you say we skip the preliminaries then? Get right to the good stuff?" He frowned disappointed as the other man said nothing. "Don't talk much do you?" He shrugged. "Just as well, talking has no place in a fight anyway, _ne_?"

The trench coat man seemed to tilt his head.

Shinichi sighed and let his head hang a bit. "Ok then." He thrust his hands out and moved them through a complex warm up _kata_. Then, he was gone.

ooooo

Inari watched as Shinichi appeared behind his opponent. "Wow…who'd have thought he looked like death warmed over an hour ago?" She whispered. She continued to watch the fight. She remembered the training she had done with him, he had been untouchable then, and now seemed even more so. The hooded figure was managing to evade or at least stop most of Shinichi's attacks, but was clearly outmatched.

Mishima took note of the fact that the young woman sticking the gun in his ribs was not paying attention to him. There was still no way he could escape her, but he could do something. He moved slowly so as not to draw attention to himself, and brought his cell phone to his hand. He dialed the numbers, sent the text message, and returned the phone to his pocket. He grunted as the gun barrel pressed against him.

"What are you squirming for?" Inari demanded angrily.

"I am merely trying to enjoy the fight my dear." Mishima answered calmly. He turned as the crowd began cheering louder. He looked down into the cage. "This does not bode well."

Inari ground her teeth. Shinichi was on the ground with a mouth full of blood. Standing above him was the trench coat, holding a pair of nunchuku in his gloved hands. "Damn creep had weapons hidden on him!"

Mishima smiled a bit. "There are no rules in a fight like this."

Inari fought the urge to shoot Mishima. She gasped as she felt the cold wind. She looked down into the cage and saw the darkness beginning to surround Shinichi. "That day in the alley." She whispered. "It's going to happen again."

ooooo

Aijou looked at the supposedly abandoned warehouse that was alive with activity. She turned to Toshi, who was coordinating raid information with her team of officers. "I've heard of these kind of places, but I didn't think they existed."

Kam nodded. "Yeah, urban legends and such."

Toshi nodded. "They are real though. They are hard to track since they move so often."

"They're only hard to track if you look above ground." Erika laughed. "You can find anything in an underground chat room."

"I don't want to know what you hacked Erika." Toshi held up her hand to stop the girl. "If it didn't come from a legal source, the less I know, the better."

"Isn't that rather callous?" Asked Hana.

Inuki suddenly growled at the building.

Mai stiffened as a cold chill ran down her spine. "_Onii-chan_ is in there!" She took off running. She nimbly dodged through the police line as various officers tried to stop her. Before long she was alone running across the open lot toward the entrance of the warehouse. She saw the bouncer that blocked her way, and franticly tried to think of a way to get past him. Her solution came up upon her quickly on four furry legs.

Inuki growled and leapt at the large guard, sinking her teeth into the tender flesh of his throat. She then doubled back and ran between Mai's legs, easily lifting the small girl, before sprinting into the building.

Aijou blinked at the speed with which the scene had unfolded. "Well screw this. I'm not waiting any more." She took off after Mai. She looked back and saw the others following after her.

ooooo

Shinichi spit the blood from his mouth as he was hit yet again by his attacker's nunchuku. "I won't let you win." He whispered more to himself than to his opponent. He could feel a power gathering within him. A power so familiar, yet so terrifying. It called to him for release, and yet…His thoughts were distracted as he was beaten into the ground yet again. His head jerked up as the trench coat man pulled his hair, he couldn't see under the hood, but he could sense that there was a sadistic smile beneath it.

At last the hidden figure spoke. "Kill them…like I killed him…last of the Kokuei."

Shinichi's eyes went wide. "Killed…the last Kokuei? Sensei? Dead?" For a moment, Shinichi almost began to cry, then the dam broke, and the power within his chest exploded out.

Screams echoed through out the cage as a sphere of black energy surrounded Shinichi. His eyes were black and soulless. The sphere of energy seemed to absorb the heat of the room. The scar on his back pulsated with _ki_. His face was torn between a sadistic smile, and concern for the people panicking around him.

Shinichi grasped for a moor in the turbulent darkness that threatened to swallow him. He was relieved to find many, and noted the strange choice of music that the DJ had put on before fleeing the scene.

His attention then came back to the dazed man in the trench coat, and he felt his control slip away. A devil's smile came across Shinichi's face. With a cry that seemed to mix pain, fear, hatred, and pleasure all at once, he lunged for the man. His fingernails cut into the flesh of his opponent, causing some of the spray to hit his face before slowly dripping down his cheeks.

__

I feel it welling up inside and Robert Smith lied

Boys do cry and with blood tears in my eyes

I'm an Anne Rice novel come to life

I can't hide the monster anymore

Shinichi threw the man across the cage and into the barb wire. The heavy leather of the coat became caught and held the man firm. Shinichi dashed across the arena and began to hammer at the defenseless man with his fists.

One can only feel desolate for so long

Until one starts to change

Into something the mirror doesn't recognize

I metamorphosize

At last the fabric ripped and Shinichi looked down at the fallen man, yet Shinichi didn't stop. He lifted the man by the coat and began to slap him violently. His hands becoming red with blood.

__

The darkness has been bidding it's time

To claim it's latest victim

Fresh meat for carnal desires

To become what I became

I viewed the sun for the last time

Shinichi turned as he felt something grab his hand. He knew he knew this person, yet couldn't seem to place him.

__

Will you still hold me when you see what I have done?

Will you still kiss me the same when you taste my victim's blood?

So crimson and red, I feel it flowing from your lips.

"Shin!" Kam yelled louder, fearing the vacant look in his friend's eyes. "You won, stop now."

Still lost in his mindless rage, Shinichi dropped the unconscious man, and spun to land a vicious backhand punch that sent his new enemy flying backward. The boy Shinichi attacked hit the fence and barb wire of the cage and punched a hole through it before stopping against the far wall.

__

My heart is dead and so are you

And it pulses through, the desire to change

The desire to deconstruct all of my past failings

"Knock it off!" Inari yelled as she attack him.

Shinichi turned to the new enemy and smacked her away. She too, was easily dispatched.

__

It's hard to look at saints without them

Reflecting your jet black aura back on you

And all I have is hope, my inner burn's not fading

I'll wipe the blood from my cheek and get on with my day.

Shinichi turned as he heard something below him. He looked down to see a dog. It felt familiar, it relaxed him. He reached out to pet the dog.

__

Will you still hold me when you see what I have done?

Will you still kiss me the same when you taste my victim's blood?

So crimson and red, I feel it flowing from your lips.

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai called.

"Shinichi?" Aijou called. "Shin? Can you hear me?"

Shinichi turned toward the sound of the voices. He saw them, and something sparked with in his soul.

__

And all I have is hope, and all I need is time

To bury in pine under six feet of time

The lies I told me about myself

Mai held out her hand to her brother. "_Onii-chan_?"

Shinichi took a step forward.

Aijou held out her hand, following Mai's example.

Shinichi took another step forward. He took the two hands offered to him.

__

Claw my way out, pick the splinters from under my fingernails

I won't lose hope, I won't give in

Just live and breath and try not to die again

Just live and breath and try not to die again

Just live and breath and try not to die again

Aijou caught Shinichi as his body suddenly went slack.

Shinichi pushed away and stared at the carnage he had wrought. "_Kami-sama_…what have I done?" He fell to his knees and began to cry, his tears cutting jagged lines through the blood on his face. "What am I?"

__

Will you still hold me when you see what I have done?

Will you still kiss me the same when you taste my victim's blood?

So crimson and red, I feel it flowing from your lips.

Aijou crouched in front of him and pulled him close. Gently stroking his hair as he cried, heedless of the blood that rubbed off his body and onto her clothes.

__

My heart is dead…and so are you.

The two children ignored the police officers that stormed the rest of the building. They also failed to notice that the fact that the man in the trench coat was missing.

ooooo

Mishima had just gotten into his limo when the voice came from the shadows.

"You did well."

Mishima jumped and turned on the cabin light to reveal two figures in black trench coats. The first was in pristine condition and sat up right, the second's coat was bloody and torn. If not for the steady breathing, the slumping posture would have convinced Mishima that he was dead. Three other bodies were in the cabin as well, the hit men he had summoned on his cell phone during the fight. They were all dead. Mishima attempted to remain calm. "I did as we agreed. I expect payment in full." He stared at the blood on his seats. "And that must be fixed as well."

The first man chuckled. "You needn't worry about that. As for your payment, that will have to be renegotiated."

"Renegotiated!" Mishima fumed.

The first figure nodded. "You were supposed to bring the one we wanted to us directly. But your greed has interfered. Before you receive your payment you must agree to one final job for us. Are you willing to do that? One final job?"

Mishima didn't have a choice, thanks to the police he had lost even more money this evening. He nodded.

The man nodded his hidden head. "Excellent. The job is simple, you must simply deliver a message to a one of the officers outside."

Mishima smiled. "That's it?"

The man nodded, and pulled a long dagger from the scabbard hidden beneath his coat. "Yes." He ran the dagger through Mishima's chest with a single powerful trust. "That's it." He picked up the body of his partner and exited the car. He walked through the confusion of the police blockade without incident and disappeared.

End Chapter Nine

Rider: Well, that end's another chapter for me. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Star: You're making Shinichi evil again.

Wraiths: Yes! Blood and destruction for all!

Rider: You two are impossible to please. (Turns to readers.) If you have time, please leave a little something to tell me your thoughts on what you've seen so far, be it good, bad, or otherwise.

Star: Bye peoples!

Wraiths: Later.

Rider: Till the next, live well all.


	10. Visit From the Past

Rider: _Konbawa Minna-san_! I hope everyone is well.

Star: I can't take this anymore! No more papers! I don't wanna do any more stupid papers!

Wraiths: And I can't stand listening to you complaining anymore! So shut up already!

Star: Don't push me right now you gothic wannabe! (hovers off the ground, her fists starts to glow with white aura) I have no patience for your garbage right now!

Wraith: (shifts into shadow form) You think I'm scared of a pop princess like you! Bring it on!

Rider: (sweat drops as explosions begin to fill the room) Anyway…Not to many reviews this time, so well do mail quick.

To KylaranAeldin, if Wraiths wasn't so occupied with his stupidity right now he'd probably say something like he's glad you appreciated the blood as much as he did, but he's busy, so I'll say it on his behalf, and he can say it later if Star doesn't break his jaw off during the fight. Glad you liked the blood, and everything else. And thanks for the spell correction.

To watanuki, glad you're enjoying the story. As for your question, Atreyu is a metal group, I'm not sure if their death metal or not though. I'm not sure how much you have to talk about vivisection to qualify for death metal status. Anyway, there's lots of heavy guitar and screaming barely understandable vocals. But the music is still really good, so I encourage you to try them out.

To Keitaro's clone, glad you like everything so far. See above for an explanation of the music. As for Inari's little vision things, that will be explained in a later chapter.

Rider: I hope that… (ducks as debris goes flying)

Wraiths: (looping around the room in shadow form) You'll have to do better than that!

Star: (flying after wraiths) When I get my hands on you, you are dead!

Rider: It's not even worth trying to stop them at this point. I'll meet everyone at the end.

ooooo

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina in any of it many incarnations. It's Ken Akamatsu's, TV Tokyo's , Tokyo Pop's, and…did I forget anyone? I don't know. OC's are mine though, please don't steal them.

Change of Hearts

Chapter Ten: Visit From the Past

Aijou walked slowly as she headed to school. It had been almost a week since Shinichi had been found in the Yakuza warehouse. She looked back over her shoulder, and sighed.

Shinichi also walked to school slowly, but while the others all walked together in a group, he walked alone a few yards back. His eyes, hollow and haunted, couldn't seem to lift their gaze from the ground directly before him.

Aijou looked forward again and continued to walk. Shinichi had been like this since the ambulance that had treated him had taken them home. She hadn't been able to get him to speak more than a few words to her during that entire time. His normally voracious appetite had all but disappeared and he rarely ate more then a few bites of whatever Mai cooked. Even those few bites had happened only because Mai had made Shinichi feel guilty about not eating her "bad" food. When you combined that with the fact that he had redoubled his training exercises, Shinichi had lost a lot of weight already. Aijou was scared for him.

"Sis?" Kam called. "Sis? Sis!"

Aijou snapped her head up. "_Nani_!"

"You've been twirling your locker combination for a while now." Kam looked worried. "You ok?"

Aijou looked back and forth between her brother and her locker. "I don't even remember getting to the school." She whispered. She looked around the crowded hallway. "Where's…"

"He went to class already." Kam handed Aijou some books. "Don't worry about him so much. He's tough, he'll bounce back."

Aijou frowned. "This isn't something you can just 'bounce back' from Kam." She closed her locker and walked away. "Not everyone is able to keep an optimistic attitude like you can."

Kam watched her go. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"She just scared for Shinichi." Hana walked up to Kam. "She doesn't know what to do for him, so she's angry."

"And she has to take it out on me?" Kam demanded.

Hana gave Kam a gentle kiss on the forehead. "I know you can take it, and I think Aijou does too. Don't hold it against her. Please?"

"Hana?" Kam looked around the hallway. "Could you let go of me? You're causing a scene."

Hana looked around and saw that some of the students were giggling at them. "Oh, my. Do I have something on my face?"

Kam face faulted. "You just…" He started to yell, but stopped when the few people in the hall who weren't staring turned. He took a deep breath. "Maybe you could keep the PDA to a minimum."

Hana nodded. "Ok!"

Kam sighed and walked away to get to his class.

Hana also turned to get to class. She paused and brought her finger to her lip in thought. "What does PDA mean?"

ooooo

Toshi bowed and left her supervisor's office. She walked quickly to her own, much smaller office and shut the door. Once secure behind her four walls, the obscenities flew from her mouth at an alarming rate. Ten minutes later, she slumped in her chair. Her head snapped up a moment later, her eyes narrowed, and her jaw clenched.

"Someone is trying to make a fool of me." She riffled through her desk and gathered some papers into a folder. "I am not a fool, and I refuse to be treated as such." Securing her sword to her back, she exited her office. She ignored the confused and terrified looks of her fellow officers as she left the building. "He's already taken me off this case, and now he's so scared of the political ramifications he's removed me from active duty. I'm not going to let it all go. I've put to much time into this case to let someone else finish it."

She boarded the bus and sat towards the rear. Once she was sure she had some measure of privacy, she opened her folder and took out the crime scene photos. She studied the photo carefully. The first three murders were nothing special, simple hack and slash jobs really, notable only for the brutality with which they were carried out. "And the fact that it happened right under the noses of Tokyo's finest." She flipped to the next photo.

"Mishima." Toshi knew of him, again, nothing special. He worked his way up through the Yakuza ranks over the past few years, but he didn't have enough power to make him worth killing. "Perhaps that was why he was killed." Toshi murmured. "I've been looking at this like it was a Yakuza hit, but it's all wrong. Someone else was responsible for these killings. They used Mishima as the messenger because they knew he'd be expendable, that the reaction from the Yakuza wouldn't be as bad as if they hit a mark higher on the ladder." She shook her head as she wondered about this new theory and flipped to the next photo.

It was a close up of the dagger in Mishima's chest. Forensics and the photo lab had found a message carved into the wooden handle. "Too slow Hajime. Read up on your history." She sighed. "Who have I put away that's been paroled recently?" Her brow furrowed in aggravation. "No one who'd go up against Yakuza, even if it was a low mark like Mishima." The photos were returned to her folder and she left the bus. She walked to the Hinata-sou, lost so deep in thought that she didn't even hear Inuki growl at her as she went to her room.

Toshi stripped out of her uniform and began to pull her civvies from the closet. She stopped as she saw her reflection in her mirror. She studied her body, tracing her gentle curves with the back of her hand. Her frown deepened. She undid the wrap around her chest and then began it again, making it tighter than before. She smiled as she saw the curves that had been barely noticeable before were now completely gone. She dressed quickly into a pair of baggy jeans and gray sweat shirt. She looked back at the mirror and tied her hair back into a tight, simple, boyish, ponytail. "Much better."

She moved on to Keitaro's and Naru's room. She sat and began to sort through the remaining file folders. "Now lets find something useful today."

ooooo

Aijou looked around the hallway as she prepared to leave school. "Mai-_chan_? Where's your brother?"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know." She looked down at the ground. "Maybe he went to get help studying again…"

"Like he did last time?" Aijou asked angrily. She sighed as she saw Mai's upset face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's ok." Mai assured the older girl, weakly. She looked up as she came to the front door. "Kamali? Hana-_onee-chan_? Have you seen _onii-chan_?"

Kam shook his head. "He took off right after gym class."

"I haven't seen him either." Hana informed them.

Aijou looked around, and her eyes narrowed as she realized something. "Where's Inari?"

Kam looked around nervously as well. "Not again…"

Aijou started to run out the door when a tan foot was stuck out from around the corner, tripping the running girl. "Falling…falling…fallen." Her face collided with the pavement. She looked up to Erika running from the scene of the crime.

"I'm going to find Shinichi-_kun_ first!" Erika leapt and landed on the wall that surrounded the school ground. She pulled out her cell phone and pressed a few keys.

"Anybody else feel the ground shaking?" Asked Kam as he held onto the door handle. He extended his hand to help Mai keep her balance.

Mai looked up as something came bounding down the street. "It's a robot?"

Hana pulled out her camera and began taking photos at a rapid clip. "It's not everyday you see something like that."

"I don't believe this." Aijou muttered.

Erika laughed as at large, metal, dog stopped behind her. "Behold the Mecha-Inuki Version One!" She looked up as the metal canine leaned down and swallowed her whole. She slid along the transport tube until she landed in the mecha's cockpit. "I'll see you later!" She called over the speakers.

Aijou stood up and glared as Erika ran off in her contraption. "Oh, it is so on."

ooooo

Inari entered the little café and knocked on the countertop. "Anyone here? Yukimura?"

"Be right there!" Yukimura came out from the back kitchen and stopped cold. "Inari-_san_…"

"Hey Yuki." Inari nodded in greeting. "Is Shinichi around anywhere?"

"No…" Yukimura looked away. "I…I…don't know where he is."

Inari blinked. "You're his boss and you don't know where he is?" Her eyes narrowed. "What are you acting all weird for?" She sat down on the bar stool at the counter. Inari frowned as the café owner mumbled a response. "Yuki, spill, now."

"I'm not his boss anymore!" Yukimura yelled as she turned away.

"Not his boss anymore?" Inari frowned. "Why the hell not?"

"I…kind of…fired him." Yukimura shrank away as Inari stood and slammed her hands on the counter.

"You what?" Inari demanded. "Shinichi nearly died trying to help you keep your stupid restaurant!" She leaned over the counter. "He's the only reason your not staining sakura petals right now!" She reached over and grabbed the other woman's shirt. "Whatever he thinks he owes you he paid back a thousand times over, and you fired him?"

"I know that I owe him a debt I can't repay!" Yukimura yelled back as she pulled away. "I know that, but…" She started to cry.

"But what?" Inari demanded.

Yukimura looked away. "I've never seen anything like that Inari…and I don't want to see it ever again." She lifted her eyes to meet the younger girl's. "He scares me."

Inari released her grip on the manager's clothes with a shove. "You're coward for not getting over your fear. And you're a bitch for how your treating him." She turned and began to storm out of the restaurant. She turned at the last moment to look at the crying woman, she gasped as she thought she saw someone else in the other woman's place, before regaining her composure. "Your food sucks too." She slammed the door and didn't look back.

ooooo

Sarah looked up as the door to the Hinata Tea House opened. "Hey kid."

Shinichi grunted and sat down at the table in the corner.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you too."

"Sorry." Shinichi's voice was monotone and lacked energy of any kind. "Rough week."

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, I'll bet. Need an ear to listen?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Nah, I'm just going to work on my homework for a while."

Sarah nodded and returned to her work.

Shinichi opened his text book. He worked in silence for some time before he turned to the sound of something settling on the table beside him. "Thanks, but I'm not hungry."

The woman pouted. "Oh come on. You're the only other person that's been in here all day beside that slave driver." She pleaded with him. "You're not going to make me eat alone on my lunch break are you?" She pushed the dish closer to Shinichi.

Shinichi's stomach growled as he smelled the spices in the curry. He looked at the woman. She had short, pitch-black hair and pale skin. Her blue eyes reminded him of his sister's eyes. The woman didn't look much older than his mom, and she seemed nice enough. "Sure, I don't see any harm. May I ask your name?"

The woman nodded. "It's Amaya. How about you?"

"Shinichi." He took a bite of the meal, and made a face. "It's smells better than it actually tastes."

Amaya laughed nervously. "Yeah, I never really learned how to cook. My brother was the one with the culinary skills." She took a bite of the curry. "God that's awful."

"I was trying to be nice." Shinichi took another bite. "Still…"

Amaya smiled. "School lunches must be real bad now a days if your still eating."

Shinichi didn't respond at first . "Something like that…"

Amaya nodded. "So what has your face hanging so low." She laughed lightly as Shinichi clammed up. "Sorry, I saw that look on my brother's face a lot, so I get nosy when I see it sometimes."

"Well, whatever his problems were, I'm guessing they're not nearly as bad as mine." Shinichi answered slowly.

Amaya turned to the boy a bit more. "I can't say if you don't tell me what's bothering you."

Shinichi turned to the older woman. "Your brother ever almost kill someone?"

Amaya nodded. "Actually, yes." She forced a smile as a look of shock came across Shinichi's face. "Bet you weren't expecting that, _ne_?" She pulled away from the table. "I'm going to get us some desert."

Shinichi watched as Amaya left the table, noticing for the first time that she was in a wheelchair. He looked up as she came back to the table. "Were you…I mean, did…"

"Was it my brother who put me in a wheel chair?" Amaya smiled and passed him a slice of cake. "Is that what your trying to ask?"

Shinichi took a bite of the cake and looked down as his face flushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

Amaya smiled again. "It's ok." She sampled her own cake. "It was sort of his fault, but it was sort of mine too. I didn't think for myself and I got hurt for it."

Shinichi laid his fork down. "Don't you hate him for hurting you though?"

Amaya blinked. "Hate him?" She rested her head in her hands. "I supposed I did at first. Waking up in a hospital to find your whole world has changed is…frustrating, to say the least. But, no. I don't hate him, not anymore."

"How come?"

"It's in the past." Amaya replied. "It's history. And no matter what I do, I can't ever go back and change what's already happened."

Shinichi looked down. "But what if it happens again? What if I…I mean, your brother, tried to hurt you again. What if it didn't stop the next time, and someone actually got killed?"

"I won't let that happen." Amaya finished her cake. "I can't change the past, but I can revisit it. I can learn from it. I can make sure that I don't allowing to happen like that again." She smiled, though if it was happy or sad, one couldn't tell. "Even though the…incident, took one brother from me, it gave me another. I'm also closer to my sisters now. I don't hate my brother, I can't say I love him either, but…I'm thankful for him. In his own way, he helped me to see the parts of me that weren't all that nice, and I've done my best to change so I can help my family and friends when they need it."

Shinichi stared at the empty plate before him. "Change to help others?" He whispered. He looked up. "Did your brother change too?"

"I don't know." Amaya admitted. "We've fallen out of touch."

Shinichi nodded. "I see." He looked up and smiled brightly, brighter then he had in the past week. "I'm going to revisit my past. I'm going to learn from it, and I'm going to change too." He stood and bowed deeply to Amaya. "When I do, I'm going to come back and show you how much I've changed and thank you properly." He smiled again and ran out of the tea shop, up towards the Hinata-_sou_.

Sarah came out of the kitchen. "So what do you think?"

Amaya flipped Shinichi's notebook around to study the work. "It's hard to say. His _ki_ is very well developed, as is his _chi_." She paused. "I can't say what the status of his _rei_ is though."

Sarah sat down in the little booth. "How come?"

Amaya flipped through the pages of the notebook. "He takes after my brothers quite a bit…to much perhaps."

Sarah turned and looked out the window as she saw Shinichi running back to the Tea House and entered again.

"I forgot my books." Shinichi grinned sheepishly as he collected his books and left again.

Sarah nodded. "I can certainly see Ken in him, and the way he puts himself on the line is definitely from both his parents."

"But he is darker than Ken ever was." Amaya looked out the window at Shinichi's disappearing form. "He reminds me of my other brother, but even that is wrong. There's something else too, something I can't identify."

Sarah shuddered at the memory of what Amaya's other brother was capable of. "You think Shinichi could be a danger to the others?"

Amaya smiled. "No. He may be darker, but he's still the son of my brother." She paused. "Have you called him yet?"

Sarah shook her head. "I can't find him. I called Shinobu, but I hung up before she answered. I don't want to worry her any more than she is already."

"Her kids are missing, as far as she's concerned." Amaya began collecting the plates. "I would think that knowing where they are would bring some relief."

"You know how Shinobu gets." Sarah reminded her. "She's likely to do something stupid if she finds out Shinichi and Mai are here."

"She's a mother." Amaya replied. "Sometimes that's what you have to do."

Sarah looked away. "I wouldn't know…"

Amaya nodded slowly. "I'm going to go wash these dishes." She turned and rolled herself back to the kitchen, leaving the blonde alone with her thoughts.

ooooo

"Kamali?" Mai knocked on the door to the boy's room with one hand while holding her book in the other. "Are you in there?" She cracked the door open a bit when she got no answer. "Kamali?" She looked sadly at the empty room and shivered as she felt the cold breeze. "He left the window open?" She entered the room with the sole intention of closing the window against the fall winds. She stopped as she looked up into the tree just outside the window. "Kamali!"

Kam startled awake in his little perch just in time to see Mai easily leap from the window sill to his branch. His jaw fell a little bit as he saw her land with the practiced grace of a martial artist. "How'd you…"

"What are you doing out here?" Mai yelled at him. "It's cold and you don't even have a coat! You'll get sick and die out here!"

Kam blinked. "Aren't you being a bit over dramatic?"

Mai brought her hand's to her lips as she realized what she was doing. Her face fell a little bit and she bowed her head. "_Gomen nasai_."

Kam looked on dumbfounded. Then he saw Mai shiver. He was used to this weather, but she was only dressed in her simple, white, dress. He held out his hand to her. "I'm sorry too. Let's get you back inside where it's warm."

Mai took his hand. "_Hai_."

Kam started to climb down the tree trunk.

"Wouldn't it be faster to jump?" Mai asked nervously.

"I guess, I didn't think you could make a jump like…" Kam stopped as he remembered what he had just seen Mai do a moment ago. "Yeah, come on." He pushed off of the tree and jumped toward the window. He blinked as Mai let go of his hand. He turned as he landed in his room, alone. "_Nani_?" He looked up to see Mai clinging to the tree branch for dear life. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Mai yelled down.

Kam blinked. "Sure doesn't look like it. Just jump."

"I'm making my preparations!" Mai squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she looked down. "I'm making my preparations!"

"You said that already." Kam raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You sure you're all right? We both saw you can make that jump."

"That's cause…I was jumping…up." Mai didn't yell this time, but it was loud enough that Kam could hear her. "Jumping down…" She looked down and felt her stomach roll.

Kam sighed. "You're afraid of heights?" He shook his head. "Then why'd you jump up there in the first place?"

"I thought you'd frozen to death up here!" She yelled back.

Kam blinked again. "It's not…that cold." He sighed. "Hang on, I'll come get you."

"No!"

Kam stopped.

"I…I can get down on my own." Mai stood slowly and did her best not to look down. She looked at her landing point, and quickly looked up again. "I can do this." SHe whispered. She looked down again, this time at Kam. She bent her knees and jumped.

Kam panicked as he saw Mai heading straight for him. He tried to catch her and slow her stop, but wasn't ready. They tumbled across room together.

Mai sat up and rubbed her head. "That could have gone better." She looked over at Kam. His nose was bleeding and he was pointing as though shocked by something. "_Nani_?"

"P-p-p-pan…" Kam blushed brightly and turned around. "Fix your clothes!"

Mai looked down and gasped. The rough landing had caused her dress to ride up, giving Kam a perfect view of her teddy bear panties. She quickly pulled her down her dress. "_Gomen nasai_."

"You should be!" Kam turned and yelled at her. "That was a completely reckless jump! And do you know what your brother would do to me if he found out I'd seen you like that?"

Tears began to form in Mai's eyes. "I'm s-sorry. I didn't mean to…"

Kam sighed. "Great. Now I made her cry." He muttered so only he could hear. "Sorry I yelled Mai. I didn't mean to." He handed her a tissue. "Dry your tears, ok?" He waited until she had done this. He leaned back a bit where he sat. "Did you need something from me?"

Mai looked down at the floor. "You don't have to help me if you don't want to." She picked up her book from where it had fallen to the floor. "I was hoping that you could help me with my homework."

Kam nodded and looked through her assignment pad. "Oh, I see now." They spent the next few minutes going over the different problems until Kam was certain that Mai understood everything. Then they sat in silence for a while. "How'd you make that jump before?"

Mai's eyes went wide and she began to wave her hands franticly. "What jump! I didn't jump! I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Kam fell over. "What the hell are you talking about? I know what I saw." He blinked as he saw Mai about to cry again. "What's wrong?"

"Please don't tell _onii-chan_!" Mai begged. "I'll do whatever you want, but please don't tell!"

Kam was surprised by the panic in her voice, and nodded. "Ok, I won't. But, why not?"

Mai looked down. "Cause it will make him sad."

Kam blinked. "How?"

Mai fidgeted in her seat. "_Onii-chan_ ran away for the first time when Papa refused to train him. I heard them fighting about it. I knew how angry _onii-chan_ was, and I was scared that he would never come back. I followed him, it was a stupid thing to do." She paused and took a deep breath. "China was so big, I could have gotten lost so easily, but he ended up just walking around the next town over, so it was easy to follow him even though it was a long walk. That was the first time I saw him."

"Him?" Kam pulled up a loose floor board and pulled out a couple sodas. "Who?"

Mai took on of the sodas. "You keep secret snacks in your floor?"

"Yes." Kam sighed. "Don't get distracted."

Mai jerked a bit. "_Hai_." She sipped her drink. "I didn't get a good view of him, but he and _onii-chan_ talked for a long time. He was the one who started to train _onii-chan_." She paused again. "_Onii-chan_ started to sneak out a lot after that with out telling anyone, not even me."

Kam fidgeted nervously in his seat as he saw a few tears in Mai's eyes. He remembered how Mai had clung to Shinichi after her nightmare. And how Shinichi had calmed down when Mai took his hand at the warehouse. He sighed. Shinichi and Mai didn't seem to keep any secrets from one another, so this betrayal of that trust, by not telling her, must have really torn her up. He lost the chance to say anything as Mai began to talk again.

"After a while, I couldn't keep up with _onii-chan_ anymore." Mai looked down at the table. "He was to fast, and so agile." She laughed. "I remember the first time I saw him jump from the street to the roof of a high building, I wondered if he might be an alien from another planet." Her smile faded. "When _onii-chan_ would come home, I would spy on him to see what he was doing. I saw him training, and began to imitate him. Slowly, I got stronger, and I could keep up with him when he snuck out."

"You must have been really determined to do all that." Kam saw Mai in a whole new light now. "But is still don't understand why we shouldn't tell Shinichi."

"He's always been the strong one of us." Mai explained softly. "And I was the smart one. If he finds out that I can be strong like him, it will make him sad."

Kam remembered the first night that Shinichi arrived at the Hinata-sou. "And even though he tries so hard, he's not as good at school as you are."

Mai nodded. "If he finds out that I can be both, while he can only be one, he'll be really sad." She shook her head. "I don't want any of the people I care about to ever be sad."

"But what about you?"

Mai's head snapped up. "What about me?"

Kam smiled. "Aren't you sad that you have to hide a part of who you are to make someone else happy?"

"I…I've never really thought about it." Mai looked away as she replied.

Kam let out and agitated sigh, but let her lie go. "Well, I think it's great that you can do both. And I think your brother would be happy with that too, and if he's not, then it's his problem to deal with. Not yours. You shouldn't have to make yourself unhappy to please someone else."

"Maybe…" Mai whispered. She looked up directly at Kam. "But you still won't tell, right?"

Kam nodded. "Yeah."

"You promise?"

"_Yakusoku_."

Mai smiled and collected her books from the table. "_Arigatou_ Kamali." SHe rounded the table and crouched next to Kam before leaning in.

Kam stared as Mai left the room, while placing his hand on the cheek that she had just kissed. He fell back and lay flat on his back, staring at the ceiling. "Two kisses in one day, plus the one from Toshi the other night. Each kiss from a different girl." He rolled to his side, his face scrunched up in thought. "I wonder if this is what the other guys at school meant when they were talking about 'players'?" He sat up again and went back to his homework.

ooooo

Aijou looked over the table at Shinichi as he worked on his homework. "You look better today."

Shinichi looked up from his work. "You think so?" He looked out the window. "Maybe…" He looked back down at his papers and went back to work.

Aijou resumed her work for a while in silence, before her head came up again. "You've never talked about what happened at that fight."

Shinichi didn't look up. "Nope."

Aijou's cheeks puffed up. "You're avoiding the subject."

"Yep." Shinichi nodded.

Aijou grabbed her book and bashed Shinichi over the head with it. "You are such a guy! Stop with the monosyllabic answers!"

Tears streamed from Shinichi's eyes as pain registered on his face. "That really hurt."

Aijou dropped the book. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…I mean…"

Shinichi smiled and slapped a bandage down over his bump. "It's ok."

Aijou stared, he had let that go way to easily. She lowered her head and went back to her work while she tried to figure out what was going on in his head. She came up with nothing and looked up again. "How are you doing?"

"I still don't understand DNA replication…"

Aijou hit Shinichi again. "I mean about you and the fight! Not the stupid homework!"

Shinichi placed another bandage on his head. "I…I don't know how I am."

"Don't know?" Aijou blinked. "That doesn't make sense."

Shinichi smiled. "There are a lot of things about me that make no sense. You should know that by now."

"I'm trying to be serious here Shin." Aijou pushed a few strands of her bottle blackened hair from her eyes. "I'd really like an answer."

Shinichi laid down his pen. "I don't have an answer Aijou." He leaned forward and let his head rest on the table. "At least not one I understand."

"Tell me then." Aijou insisted. "Maybe I can help you understand it."

Shinichi leaned back a bit and reached into his pocket, but didn't pull it out again. "I met someone in Aunt Sarah's Tea Shop earlier. She told me about her brother. About how he went through some stuff similar to what I did."

Aijou nodded. "Ok."

"I don't know the full story, but he ended up putting her in a wheelchair." Shinichi pulled his hand from his pocket, but didn't open his hand. "I'm scared that the next time I lose control I may do that to Mai. Or you. Or Inari. Or Kam. Or…"

Aijou watched as Shinichi listed the members of the household. With ever name, he squeezed his fist tighter. By the time he reached the final name, she saw a small rivulet of blood dripping onto her _kotatsu_. "Shin! Your hand!"

Shinichi looked at his hand, and brought both his hands under the table quickly. "Sorry."

"Don't hide it!" Aijou started to rise. "I'll get you a bandage."

"It's ok." Shinichi raised his hand again, no cut was evident. He smiled sadly as he saw the shock on Aijou's face. "Just one more thing that makes no sense, _ne_?"

Aijou sat down again and took his hand. "There's not even a scar. How'd you do that?"

"My sensei taught me to use my _ki_ to heal faster." Shinichi's weak smile faded. "The woman I met said I should revisit my past and learn from it so that I don't have a repeat of that…day at the warehouse. But, the reason that happened was because my sensei is dead now. He was the one person in my past that might have had an answer to how I can control this thing inside me."

Aijou held onto Shinichi's hand and gave a gentle squeeze. "I may not be a sensei at anything, but I'm from your past too."

Shinichi smiled, and nodded his thanks to Aijou's silent offer. He brought his other hand out from under the table.

"What's that?" Aijou focused on the small object that Shinichi held. "A razor blade?"

"I'm not sure what it is." Shinichi admitted. "Sensei gave this to me." He held it out to Aijou. "The only thing he's ever given me, well, tangible anyway."

Aijou studied the small object. At first glance, it seemed like a simple razor, but on closer inspection, it clearly wasn't. It was black and oddly shaped, as though it had been made with multiple facets. It was also jagged on some edges, like it had been broken from something larger. To her it was a simple, useless peace of scrap metal, but to Shinichi… "This must be very important to you."

Shinichi nodded. "When he gave it to me, he told me that this would be very important to me. That it was going to be key in me becoming the man I will be for the rest of my life."

Aijou started to hand it back. "Better hold onto it then." Shinichi balked at taking it back. "What's wrong?"

"I've been thinking." Shinichi looked out the window. "What if that thing I became at The Cage is the man I'm going to become?"

"I…" Aijou looked down at the little, metal shard. "Do you think your Sensei would do something like that to you?"

"Sensei was…an honest man, who taught me that there are many roads to walk in life." Shinichi replied. "Perhaps he saw the demon in me. Perhaps he thinks that is my path, and I need to walk it for some larger picture. Or maybe, that little shard is what will be what keeps that part of me hidden." He let his head fall a bit. "I just don't know. I have to find out more."

Aijou studied his face, she wasn't used to seeing Shinichi this anxious. "You'll figure it out."

"Maybe, but not yet." Shinichi let his head fall again, his eyes hidden by his long, blue, bangs. "I'm scared of what I might find out, but I will face it."

"Than you should take this." Aijou held out the metal shard again.

"No." Shinichi laid back.

"What do you mean no?" Aijou demanded. "I though you said this was very important to you."

"It is. That's why I want you to keep it." Shinichi brought his hand up so that he could look at it.

"I don't understand."

"Until I'm sure just what it will do to me, I think it's better this way. The answers I need, I can't find here."

Aijou swallowed hard. "So…once you get over your fear?"

"I will probably have to leave for a while." Shinichi replied sadly. "That's why I want you to hold on to that."

"_Nani_?" Aijou blinked.

"If it is what will save me, it's one more reason to come back." Shinichi was still on his back, his hand over his face. He closed it into a tight fist. "And if it's what will condemn me, that's also another reason to come back."

"Another reason?" Aijou asked. "What's the other?"

Shinichi sat up, and gave a wry smile. "We should finish our homework. It's getting late.

Aijou stared as Shinichi took his pen and began to work again. "How can you just leave me without an answer like that? And why do I get stuck watching your little keep sake!"

Shinichi smiled. "The same reason I do everything else in life, because I don't need a reason. I just do what feels right."

Aijou shook her head and rubbed her temples. "_Baka_."

"_Ahou_." Shinichi shot back playfully. He looked down at his books. A small smile hidden behind the bangs that fell over his face. "And the other reason of course…" He whispered.

"Did you say something?"

Shinichi shook his head vigorously.

Aijou blushed a bit as she saw Shinichi's eyes dart to her for a moment. She looked down and began to work on her homework again. She couldn't stop her little smile though as it spread across her face. "Take that Erika." She whispered.

Shinichi lifted his head a bit. "You say something?" He tried to dodge as Aijou's text book came down at his head again, he failed, miserably, and fell face first into the table.

Aijou grimaced. "Damn it."

ooooo

Hana finished loading her pictures on to the computer and formatted her memory card. She looked around the dense foliage in the room. "It was certainly nice of Eri-_chan_ to let me use her computers for my photos." She set her camera aside and began to put them in order in the folders. As she did this she saw another icon on the screen. The modified photo of the person following Shinichi. "That reminds me…"

She opened the web browser and the corresponding e-mail programs. She quickly entered the address and attached the picture file. She then paused as she considered the message to be sent. She typed the letter as she whispered the message aloud to help her maintain focus. "This is from the picture I took of Shin-_kun_ on the day I met him. I thinks she might be dangerous. Do you know this person? Is this why we went on vacation?" She signed her name to the letter, and paused again. "P.S. Don't reply to this e-mail. This e-mail is used by other people as well." She sent the message and then covered her tracks by deleting all traces that the short communiqué ever took place. Once everything was complete she let out a small sigh of relief.

"Whatcha doing?" Erika asked as she dropped down from the trees. "Oh! More pictures of Shinichi-_kun_ for my screen saver?"

Hana startled as the other girl appeared. "Eri-_chan_! Where did you come from?"

Erika pointed to the hidden ceiling. "I just got back from searching for Shinichi-_kun_." She pouted a bit. "Even with Mecha-Inuki's advanced sensors, I couldn't find him anywhere in the city."

"Could that be because he has been in Aijou's room studying for the past few hours?" Hana asked.

Erika's face went blank. "He's been where?" It was hard to see because of her tan skin, but there was a faint, red, flush as Erika got jealous. "That's not fair! He's my fiancé! She can't just take him away from me!"

Hana watched as Erika ran out of the room toward Aijou's room. She smiled. "She is so cute sometimes." She brought her finger to her lip in thought. "Maybe I shouldn't have told her that though?" She shut down the computer and left the room. She sniffed the air. "Mai-_chan_ must be making dinner."

"Erika!" Aijou's scream echoed through out the house. "What the hell are you doing barging into my room!"

Hana sweat dropped. "Maybe I'll go help Mai-_chan_ with the cooking." She turned and continued to walk away. She couldn't help but listen to the verbal warfare that echoed through out the house.

"You keep your hands off my fiancé!" Erika's yell followed shortly after. "He's mine! You can't have him!"

"What make's you think I want him!" Aijou shot back. "I know he doesn't want you!"

"_Nani_?"

"That's right!" Aijou's yell carried down the hall triumphantly. "He took off out the window as soon as he heard you coming down the hall!"

"That's a lie!"

Hana turned just in time to see Erika running down that hall toward the steps. "Eri_-chan_?" Hana looked on a bit sadly at the tears on Erika's face. "She's so upset she's actually using the stairs like a normal person rather than the secret tunnels." She whispered.

"Shinichi-_kun_ doesn't hate me!" Erika sprinted headlong down the stair toward the front door. She screamed as she crashed into Inari and the two girls down the remaining flights.

Inari rubbed her head. "That… was… not… fun." She glared at Erika. "What's the rush?"

Erika looked up, her eyes watering as she tried not to cry anymore. "I was…Aijou said…Shinichi-_kun_…"

Inari stood and helped Erika to her feet. "Speaking of that ass, where is he? I have to talk with him."

Erika started to cry again. She turned away and started to run towards the front door. "Not you too Inari!" She opened the door and crashed into another person. She groaned as she rubbed her head. "Why is this day going so badly?" She looked up to see who she collided with.

Mai came out of the kitchen to investigate the sound of the crashes. She saw Erika sitting on the ground staring at the figures in the door way. She also saw that the tan girl's skin had suddenly turned bone white. "Erika? What's wrong?"

Erika scurried backwards away from the door. "What are you doing here! You're not supposed to be here!"

"Who is it?" Mai went over to the door.

Erika grabbed the little girl and hid behind her. "Make them go away!"

Mai looked back and forth between Erika and the two people in the door. She also looked around and saw that the other tenants had been attracted to the door thanks to Erika's yelling.

Aijou stepped forward. "Ok, who are you? And What do you want?" Her eyes went wide. She then grinned as she looked over at Erika. "Oh, I get it now."

ooooo

Shinichi opened the door to the Hinata-sou and immediately reconsidered going back up the mountain path as he felt the tension in the house. "Maybe I can train for another few…years." He sighed and entered the house to find everyone in the living room, along with two guests.

The man looked like a double of Keitaro, except that he had Shinichi's skin tone and hair color. The woman looked like an older version of Erika, right down to the purple eyes and long, silver hair.

Shinichi turned to Aijou. "Who are these guys?"

The man turned to Erika. "This is the man you ran away from home for?"

Erika nodded. "Yes sir."

The man looked over Shinichi as though he was a bug. "I do not approve. Gather your things daughter, we're going home."

Shinichi ground his teeth. "Hey! Buddy! Bad enough you eyed me like a piece of meat! But now your order Erika around too? What's…" He stopped suddenly and looked up to the ceiling in thought. "Wait. Did you just call her your daughter?"

"That is correct." Replied the man.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed. "So you must be the Lamba Lu the old man spoke of." After the man nodded, Shinichi turned to the woman. "And you must be Amalla Su."

Amalla nodded. "I am. It is good to see you again Shinichi-_kun_."

Shinichi blinked. "Have we met before?"

Erika gasped, and hung her head slightly. "I'll go get my things…" She stood and slowly headed for the door.

Lamba nodded. "Good, it is time for us to leave here."

Erika nodded sadly, defeated. "Yes sir." She stopped as she felt someone grab her arm. She looked up to see Shinichi and locked eyes with him.

Shinichi studied her eyes intently. "Is this what you really want? Is this how you want to leave? Do you even want to leave at all?"

Erika looked at Shinichi and then down at the ground. "I…"

"Speak up." Shinichi insisted. "Don't let him decide your future." He lifted Erika's face with his hand. "You can't change the past later. Make the decision you feel is right now."

Erika turned to her parents, her eyes on the floor. "I don't want to go home yet."

"You don't have a choice." Lamba began. "You must…"

"I don't want to go home!" Erika yelled loudly at her father. "I don't want an arranged marriage! And I don't want to leave my friends!" Her voice dropped a bit. "I don't want to leave Shinichi-_kun_."

"This decision is not up to you young lady." Lamba took a step forward. "I have decided, and you are…" He stopped as Shinichi stepped in between Erika and Lamba. "You would prevent me from reaching my own daughter?"

Shinichi nodded. "You say you've decided, but so has she. You may be a hot shot king on your own turf, but this isn't your house."

"It's not yours either." Lamba pointed out. "Now get out of my way you dirty little half-breed."

Shinichi blinked. "I'm not even sure what the hell that means to me since I'm all Japanese, but I'm not moving. This is Aijou's and Kam's house, and they invited us here." His eyes narrowed. "You showed up uninvited." He looked over to Aijou, and saw her nod. "So I now invite you to leave."

Lamba took another step forward toward Shinichi and Erika.

"Alone." Shinichi added as he felt Erika clutch at his shirt.

Lamba faced off against Shinichi. "I will tell you once more, get…"

"Put up or shut up old man." Shinichi taunted. "I don't listen to my old man, what makes you think I'm going to do what you say." His eyes locked on to Lamba's. "Now get out." He didn't have time to react as Lamba backhanded him across the room where he crashed through the wall.

"Oh hell…" Inari muttered.

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai called.

The others groaned in unison.

Shinichi stood and glared at Lamba. "I also don't let my father hit me either. Last chance to walk away."

"I decline." Lamba replied.

Shinichi grinned. "Good, I hoped you'd say that. You're going down."

ooooo

Rider: (watching the fight) They are still at it…(Turns to readers) Alrighty then. You guys all know the set up now, please leave a little something if you get the chance. So, until…(ducks as another explosion rocks the room)

Star: Get over here so I can kick your ass!

Wraiths: (sticks out tongue) Bleh! Catch me first if you can!

Rider: That's it! (brings his fingers to his lips and whistles, a large silver dragon and slightly smaller red dragon descend) Oh! A friend Ginryuu? (pauses, listens to roars, raises eye brow) I see. (bows to new dragon) Nice to meet you Tatsu-_chan_. Please take good care of him. Hey? Would you two mind killing them both for me? (Smiles as the dragons fly off) Now then, until the next, live well all. (Kicks back and watches the new show, then frowns) Even my damn dragon has a girlfriend now…I hate being single…

Special Note: Inari's comment about Yukimura staining sakura petals comes from a something I heard about Yakuza hits. Hit men would sometimes bury victims with a cherry tree atop the unmarked grave as a warning to others what would happen if they went against the Yakuza. I don't know if this is true or not, but I wanted to put the note out just in case anyone wondered what it meant.


	11. A Revelation and…a Date?

Rider: _Konnichi-wa_ _Minna-san_! Sorry about the lack of updates lately, but, well, life is odd in that it never goes the way you want.

Star: Well well, Mister I always plan ahead forgot to study for mid terms. You loser!

Rider: Shut up…

Wraiths: She does have a point dude. Much as I hate to admit it…

Rider: I hate you all. (shakes head) Anyway, mail.

To Hanku, glad you like. And there's nothing wrong with being a sci-fi channel nerd.

To KylaranAeldin, I hope you didn't explode to bad. Yes, people will learn some stuff, sorry if that's a bad thing. And, not to ruin the surprise, but if you liked the Erika-Aijou rivalry…Never mind…not going to tell yet…

To Watanuki, Yes. That's all I'm going to say for now.

To Shadic the Hedgehog, You have someone who wouldn't mind me? (Rider falls over dead) That just sounds so sad on my part that someone would have to "not mind me". Oh well…Hope you enjoy the story.

Rider: Ok, see everyone at the end.

ooooo

Disclaimer: (wraiths steals the laptop, evil laughter ensues) I now control the story! I am the Dark God of Death and you will obey my commands! First…(Ginryuu enters and swallows wraiths) Rider: Sorry folks. Love Hina's not mine, but the OC's are, so please don't use unless you ask first. I'm a nice guy, I'll probably let you anyway.

Change of Hearts

Chapter Eleven: A Revelation and…a Date?

The dust from the broken wall slid of Shinichi's clothes as he slowly stood. "I also don't let my father hit me either." He focused on the man who had struck him, Erika's father, Lamba Lu. "Last chance to walk away."

Lamba was calm as always. "I decline."

A small grin slowly widened across Shinichi's face. "Good, I hoped you'd say that. You're going down."

Lamba shrugged his shoulders. "I have nothing to fear from you."

Shinichi grinned. "We'll see." He closed his eyes, and reached out with his senses. He grasped the first strand of energy. "One." Another strand. "Two." And the final strand. "Three." He nodded his head as the three energies began to pulse at different paces, yet blended harmoniously. "Here we go."

Lamba turned ever so slightly as Shinichi charged him. His left hand came up and caught Shinichi in the ribs, lifting him off the ground a bit.

Shinichi pushed off the balls of his feet and added to his lift significantly. He grasped Lamba's shirt and flipped up and over the older man. As he fell behind Lamba, he spun and kicked Lamba in the back. As the monarch stumbled forward, Shinichi landed into a low crouch and kicked Lamba's feet out from under him. Shinichi stood quickly, and grabbed the back of Lamba's shirt just before pushing him forward to pin him into the ground. Shinichi then moved up and wrapped one arm around Lamba's neck from behind while using his other arm as the brace point. He settled in to let his choke hold finish the fight. "No way you're getting out of this. Submit, before you get hurt." He sweat dropped as Lamba slowly stood back up.

Lamba grabbed the arm around his own neck with one hand and reached back to grasp the back of Shinichi's head. Lamba then leaned forward and flipped Shinichi over his shoulders. The young boy landed on his back on the floor, and Lamba placed on hand over Shinichi's neck while pinning his shoulders with his knees. Having reversed the chokehold Lamba looked down at his captive. "My kingdom is mostly desert, plagued with sandstorms. To breath in those dust filled winds is most unpleasant. I assure you that I can hold my breath longer then you can." He paused as he realized that Shinichi had made no attempt to struggle free, in fact Shinichi was grinning.

"Are you so sure of that?" Shinichi asked. He brought his legs up as though he was going into a backwards roll, and planted both of his knees into the larger man's back, knocking Lamba off of him. Once free of Lamba's pin, Shinichi flipped to his feet and turned. "You're not the only one who's trained in harsh climates."

Aijou watched at the two men began to trade blows again. She pulled Inari aside and whispered into her friend's ear. "Is this what he was like the other night?"

Inari shook her head. "No, he was stone, cold, serious during that fight." She turned to study Shinichi's movements. "He seems almost playful here."

"Playful?" Aijou watched as Shinichi continued to fight with Erika's father. "Erika's…" She glanced over at the bronze skinned girl. "Could it be that Shinichi…?"

Shinichi leaned back as Lamba tried to punch him. "Too slow." He dragged the words out like a broken record. He shifted to the left, seeming to glide out of the way of Lamba's right kick. "Oh, so close." He brought up his arms to block Lamba's next kick. "Almost."

Mai was nervous that there was a fight going on right in front of her eyes, but she was also a bit relieved. She sighed and let her muscles relax. "Thank goodness."

Kam turned to Mai. "Thank goodness for what?" He scratched at his back anxiously. He remembered the night that Shinichi had hit him full force. While it was true that Shinichi had used his _ki_ to heal his scars, Kam could still remember the pierce of the barbwire from back at the warehouse. "We're going to have a repeat of the other night."

Mai shook her head. "No. _Onii-chan_ is in control now."

"He's in control?" Kam blinked and turned back to the fight. "I guess…he does seem a little different. Like during training…"

Mai nodded. "It seems so." She sighed again. "I'm not sure why, but I'm glad."

Hana pulled out her camera and began shooting.

"What are you taking pictures for?" Toshi asked confused.

Hana smiled and shrugged, somehow without losing the focus on her camera. "My memory isn't always so good. So I take lots of pictures, to help me remember later."

Toshi went back to studying the fight. "What if you don't want to remember the past?"

Hana lowered the camera. "Even if they're sad memories, they're still my memories. I wouldn't give them up for anything."

Erika also watched as Shinichi fought with her father. Her normally animated personality had been shell-shocked into silence.

Amalla picked up her tea cup and took a leisurely sip, seeming not to care about the goings on around her.

Shinichi yawned, and promptly fell backwards as Lamba's fist hit him in the mouth. He sat up and rubbed his lip, feeling blood. He paused and seemed to look around, even though his eyes were still closed. "I've let this go on to long. This needs to stop Lamba."

Lamba still stood almost completely relaxed. He was breathing a little harder, but if he was feeling anything else, he didn't show it. "Enough bluffing. You've been on the defensive since you're first attack. You can't beat me."

Shinichi shook his head, as though disappointed. "You really don't get it do you?" He stood slowly. "You're just like him." He brought his arms in front of his body so that his fist rested just before his hips. "I don't know how to make you see…" Dark _ki_ began to surround him.

Aijou panicked. "We should stop him. Shouldn't we?"

Inari shook her head. "I think we're ok." She shrugged as Aijou stared at her. "He used that _ki_ when we were tailing the Yakuza. It's not that mess we saw the other night."

The darkness continued to grow around Shinichi. "Even if you are her father, I won't let you force your choices on Erika." He smiled. "You should feel honored though Lamba. This is the first time I'm going to use this technique." He took a deep breath. "_Kokuei-ryu_, Fusion of Shadow Techniques."

Lamba blinked as Shinichi vanished without a trace. "Where'd he go?"

Inari grinned. "Shadow Walk."

Kam looked on confused as Lamba's arms violently twisted behind him. "What is going on?"

Lamba had no choice but to turn as he felt something pulling on his arms. He spun in place until he faced Erika. He looked over his shoulders as Shinichi reappeared. "Unhand me you…"

"Shut up." Shinichi ordered. He waited as Lamba struggled. "This is called 'Grip of the Shadow Demon'. You're not going to escape my grasp." He forced Lamba to turn toward Erika. "Look at her. She's freaking out of her mind right now because of us. Please, just let this stop."

Lamba continued to try to break free. "You clearly have the advantage now. Just finish the fight and claim your victory."

"_Ahou_!"

The others watched, started, as Shinichi spun Lamba around and landed a strong, downward punch into Lamba's mouth.

Aijou gasped as she saw Shinichi's eyes opened. The green and whites were still visible, but clouded over with a film of darkness. Despite the darkness, his eyes burned with anger.

Shinichi glared at Lamba. He had hit the older man hard enough to drop him to his knees, but other than that, he was fine. "_Ahou_! There can be no victory here!" The darkness faded from Shinichi's eyes. "Why do people like you never see what's right in front of you?" He turned and walked away.

Lamba rubbed his jaw, surprised. "Why?"

"There's no reason to fight any more." Shinichi opened the front door and started to leave. "Now why don't you try being Erika's dad, instead of just her father."

The others watched in silence as he left.

ooooo

Aijou climbed up over the railing around the roof deck and walked slowly to where Shinichi sat. "You ok?"

Shinichi shrugged.

Aijou sat down. "Erika's been in her room talking with her parents for the past few hours. We haven't heard any yelling, so I guess she's doing ok in there."

Shinichi nodded.

"That was kind of brave what you did." Aijou pulled her knees up to her chest. "Kind of stupid too, but still kind of brave." She stopped as she saw her words were falling on deaf ears. She laid her head on her knees and waited.

Shinichi sighed. "There was nothing brave about it."

"You stuck up for Erika." Aijou stated. "That's got to count for something."

"I may have started that for Erika, but…" He trailed off.

"But what Shin?" Aijou prodded.

"That's not why I continued, not why I finished it." Shinichi sighed and lay back on the roof.

"You stopped it because you saw how scared Erika was." Aijou pointed out.

Shinichi turned away. "Doesn't feel that way."

Aijou mulled over his words in his mind as she thought back to the fight. "Shin?" She paused, wondering if she should ask him what was on her mind. "What happened between you and Uncle Ken?" She winced inwardly as Shinichi turned further away from her.

"Do I get to ask you a question?"

Aijou's head came up a bit. "_Nani_?"

Shinichi sat up and faced Aijou. "If I answer your question, do I get to ask you one?"

Aijou was kind of nervous as to what Shinichi might ask her, but nodded. "Honest answers on both sides though."

Shinichi nodded. "Nothing happened between me and my father."

Aijou started to get mad again. "You said you would answer honestly."

"I am." Shinichi turned away.

Aijou shook her head. "I don't get it."

Shinichi sighed. "He's not home more often than he is home. So nothing happens. We don't talk. We don't hear from him. The only time we see him is if he's on T.V. or something." He leaned forward, barely staying balanced on the roof. "Then when he does come home he tells us about his time away. All things he's done. What he's going to do. What he wants us to do. And then…"

Aijou gasped as Shinichi fell off the roof. "Shin!" She looked over the side and saw Shinichi hanging from the roof edge.

"And then he just disappears again." Shinichi swung his legs and flipped back up to the roof.

Aijou took a deep breath to try to slow her heart. She reached out and smacked Shinichi in the back of the head. "Don't do that again!"

Shinichi grinned sheepishly. "_Gomen_."

Aijou couldn't help but smile a bit in return, but it soon faded. "So you hate your dad because he's never there for you?"

"I don't know my father enough to hate him for myself." Shinichi replied coldly.

Aijou noted how he stressed the word father, rather than say dad. "Then why do you hate him so much?"

"I hate him because when Mai started having nightmares, she woke up screaming for 'Papa', and he wasn't there to rock her back to sleep." Shinichi brought his hands, now fists, into his lap. "I hate him because my mom cries herself to sleep at night because he's not there for her. I hate him because my family needs him to just be there and he's not." He brought his fist down into the roof, breaking some of the tiles. "I hate him because he's more interested in playing the big rock star than taking care of his wife and daughter!"

"What about you?" Aijou asked. "Aren't you mad that he's not there for you?"

"I can take care of myself." Shinichi brought his hands back into his lap. "I don't need him."

Aijou looked out over the city for some time. She now understood why Shinichi was so protective of Mai. Why he put himself on the line for the café owner. Why he stood up for Erika. Why he looked out for all of them, even if it was something as simple as making bento-boxes every morning. "We're here for you Shin, you don't always have to be the strong one."

Shinichi looked over. "What?"

Aijou pounded Shinichi's head. "I'm trying to be nice to you, and you aren't even paying attention!"

Shinichi rubbed his head, though he didn't seem as bothered this time. "Sorry." He looked back out over the city.

Aijou sighed. "He's back in the dumps again." She whispered to herself. She gave Shinichi a gentle shove. "Didn't you have a question for me?"

Shinichi looked at her confused. "Oh, yeah, I guess…"

"You guess?" Aijou face faulted.

Shinichi grinned. "I thought that maybe you'd get scared that I'd ask something to personal and wouldn't ask me a question."

Aijou sat back up again. "So you don't have a question for me?"

Shinichi though about it for a moment. "Actually…"

"Shinichi-_kun_?"

The young man turned, with a small amount of apprehension readable in his body language. "How'd it go Erika?"

Erika fidgeted nervously. "I…" She looked over at Aijou. "Could I speak with Shinichi-_kun_ alone Aijou?"

Aijou nodded. She stood and began to leave the roof. Erika never asked someone else for permission to be around Shinichi, so something must have really upset her.

"Aijou?" Erika called out nervously. "Thanks."

The elder Urashima turned. "For what?"

"For letting me stay." Erika looked down at the roof. "I just showed up out of the blue like my parents did. I don't even remember if you even invited me to stay after the fact, I just made myself at home." She looked up again and forced a smile. "So, I'm sorry to impose, and thank you for letting me stay." She bowed deeply to Aijou.

Aijou was more then a little confused by Erika's behavior at this point. "Sure, no problem. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

Erika bowed again before going to sit next to Shinichi

Aijou continued to walk to the edge of the roof. As she headed down the stairs that lead to the roof-deck, she passed Amalla Su. She stopped and turned. "You're going to take her home. Aren't you?"

Amalla turned her head, and only very slightly. "I'm afraid I can't say what our family will be doing."

Aijou turned away. "Guess it doesn't matter where you are. Parents all over the world think that they always know best, even when they don't know anything at all."

Unbeknownst to Aijou, Amalla turned a bit more to watch the girl walk away. Amalla smiled, and whispered. "It would seem you've made some very good friends here Erika."

Aijou entered her room and sat down on her windowsill like she did every night. She sighed heavily and looked up into the starry sky. "This isn't how it was supposed to go…"

ooooo

Erika sat down and let her legs dangle over the edge of the roof. She looked down at the ground far below, and remained silent for a long time. "Shinichi-_kun_?"

The boy turned his head. He knew that Erika was a mess right now, he had stretched out his senses when he saw her and immediately felt how jumbled her _ki_ was. Shinichi had decided to let Erika be the first to speak, least he say the wrong thing and further upset her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you, for trying to help me." Erika finally said.

"For trying?" Shinichi felt his face becoming hot with anger. "You mean he's still going to force you to go home!"

"It's not quite that simple, but…" Erika bowed her head in a silent admission. She heard rustling and saw Shinichi starting to stand.

"Stupid, moronic, pea-brained…" Shinichi had planned to go down and throttle Lamba within an inch of his life, but stopped when he felt Erika take his hand into her own. He looked down and saw that there were tears in Erika's eyes threatening to spill over.

"Please, don't go." Erika pleaded. "I would like my last night here to be a happy one."

Shinichi blinked. "Last night?" He again felt his anger begin to rise, but it was quickly quelled as his compassion for Erika over took it. He sat down next to Erika again. "There's really nothing more that can be done?"

Erika's body began to shake as she tried not to cry. She looked down again, not wanting to have Shinichi see her cry. "Nothing. We talked and…"

Shinichi lifted Erika's head. "What do you want?"

Erika blinked. "What do I?" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter what I want. I have to…"

"The only thing you have to do is die after a nice long life." Shinichi cut her off. "Everything else is a choice."

"I don't have a choice!" Erika finally broke down and began to cry openly. "I don't want to go! But I don't have a choice!" As her body became racked with sobs, anything else she said became unintelligible.

Shinichi reached out and placed an arm around Erika's shoulders, pulling her close to him. He didn't say anything, there was nothing he could say right now that would help her. He simply held her and let her cry into his shoulder. He noted with some surprise that despite the almost four years difference between them, she was still a bit smaller then he was. Somehow he found this strangely comforting, and since Erika shakes seemed to be subsiding slowly, he wondered if that made any difference to her.

Erika wasn't sure how long she cried for, but she knew it had to have been a long time because Shinichi's shirt was soaked with her tears. At last, she pulled away from him. "I'm sorry…"

"For what?"

"For being such a baby." Erika looked down at the ground. "Crying because I can't do what I want."

"You keep saying that you can't do things." Shinichi leaned back a bit. "Why?"

Erika didn't look up. "It's because, I'm a princess."

"So?" Shinichi laughed.

Erika's head darted up. "So? So!" She turned and looked at Shinichi in mixed confusion and anger. "So that means that I have to be queen one day! I have a responsibility to lead my people!"

Shinichi nodded. "So?"

Erika couldn't understand what Shinichi was trying to do. She started to get upset, tears again began to form.

Shinichi saw this and pressed on. "So what if you're going to be queen someday? You're mom's queen right now. So why do you have to go home?"

"Because…" Erika paused. Why did she have to go home? "I…I have to watch everything in the kingdom. So I'll know how to act when I'm queen. Mommy is always telling me how important her duties are as queen and that one day when I take over I will have to be more responsible and proper and…and…and…" She turned to Shinichi again and grabbed him by the shirt. "It's no fun being queen! It's not even much fun being a princess! Always having to hear about and solve other peoples problems! Being nice even if you don't want to be! Having everyone tell you what you want to hear rather than the truth! It's…it's…"

"It's not the life you want." Shinichi waited until Erika let go of his shirt, then put his arm back around her shoulders. "So? The question now is, what are you going to do to make it the life you want?" He paused as he saw the confused look on Erika's face. "When you rule, it's going to be much different then if your mom or dad were ruling." He smiled. "But that's ok. Know why?"

Erika shook her head.

"Because Erika is not Lamba. Erika is not Amalla." Shinichi replied. "Erika is Erika. She has to do what's right for her." He grinned devilishly. "And screw anybody else that stands in your way of that."

Erika smiled. "I wish that you had told me that before." She looked up at the stars. "I promised that if I got to spend one last night with you, I'd go home in the morning." She leaned her head against Shinichi's shoulder. "I don't want to leave, but it wouldn't be right for me to break a promise."

Shinichi nodded. "I guess not. I'm still a little sad that your leaving, but at least now you won't leave with tears on your face." He looked up at the stars with Erika. "I just wish there was a way I could help you stay here."

"Oh how cute!"

The two children jumped and turned to the sound of the voice. They stopped as they saw Amalla standing a few feet back on the roof.

Amalla smiled. "You two are still so cute together. Just like when you were children."

Shinichi scratched his head. "Ok, I'm going to sound dumb, but what are you talking about? You keep saying things like you know me, but we've never met before."

Amalla frowned a little bit. "You don't remember when you came to Molmol?"

"Molmol?" Shinichi leaned his head down in thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Erika with a look of deep seated sadness on her face. She had that look earlier too, before the fight with Lamba. But, that look sparked a memory much further back. "A funeral." He looked back up at Amalla. "My old man took me to a funeral for someone important I think."

"My father." Amalla nodded. "Do you remember the trip?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Not much."

Amalla walked over and sat down on the edge of the roof. She patted the ground, inviting the two tanned children to sit again. "Then let me help you to remember."

Shinichi sat down. He was a little surprised when Erika sat down and leaned against him. "I remember a little bit now that you brought it up. The old man just suddenly decided we needed to go to Molmol to pay our respects when we heard on the news that he died. Don't really remember much more then that."

"You don't remember how upset Erika was?" Amalla asked. "She was so sad that she ran away from the funeral service in tears."

Shinichi shook his head.

"I ran all the way to the central gardens." Erika stopped as she saw the confused look in Shinichi's eyes. "It was about two or three miles from the burial site."

Amalla nodded. "The death of a loved one is hard on a nine-year old girl. I wanted to run after her, comfort her. I almost did, but you beat me to it."

Shinichi lifted his head a bit. "Oh yeah. I saw her go running away, and I was so bored standing in that long line I ran after her thinking she was going to play somewhere." He grinned. "Made my old man so angry."

Erika laughed lightly. "I was in my favorite tree, crying when you found me. I wanted to be alone so I told you to leave or I'd throw you into the dungeon."

Shinichi blinked in surprise.

"I wouldn't actually do that!" Erika quickly amended. "But you wouldn't leave." Her voice fell a bit. "So I…"

Shinichi tried to think back to that time as Erika trailed off, as though she were trying to hide something. He jumped a bit as the memory came back. "You pushed me out of that tree!"

Erika cringed and began to panic. "I'm sorry."

Shinichi laughed at how she reacted. "I'm pretty sure I landed on my head, so I guess it's ok."

Amalla laughed a bit. "You didn't think so at the time. You were in the hospital for two days unconscious. When you woke up, you were quite mad with Erika."

"I was?" Shinichi asked surprised.

Erika nodded, an embarrassed flush evident even against her dark skin. "Yeah, you tried to be nice and play with me, and I hurt you real bad." She smiled again. "But you forgave me really quick and I showed you all over the palace before you went home."

Shinichi looked out over the lights of Hinata, he frowned a bit. "There was more to that trip though…that memory."

Amalla nodded sadly. "Yes, there was more."

Erika looked back and forth between Shinichi and her mother. "There was? What was it?"

"It was…" Amalla began.

"It was something I had forgotten until now." Shinichi cut off.

Amalla nodded, knowing that Shinichi didn't want to bring the subject up.

Erika looked between the other two people again. "You're hiding something." She glared at Shinichi.

Shinichi nodded, and smiled. "Yep, but thanks to you jogging my memory. I have an idea now."

"An idea for what?" Erika asked.

Shinichi stood. "You'll see in the morning."

"Wait!" Erika leaned forward as Shinichi pushed himself off the roof and landed on the ground four floors below. She glared as the boy ran off into the night. "Shinichi-_kun_! You know I can't jump that far!"

Amalla smiled as her daughter ran for the steps. She turned back and looked up at the moon. "It is so nice to see that they get along better then their parents do." She sighed and headed for the stairs. "It was so nice to see Shinichi's father at the funeral, but Lamba took so much of father's lessons to heart." She sighed again as she entered her room. "It's sad that I can't see my cousin, but at least Erika was able to see hers for a short time." She dressed for bed and lay down. She was not at all surprised to see that Lamba was already fast asleep. As her eyes closed, she wondered what Shinichi had planned for tomorrow.

ooooo

Breakfast the next morning was a quiet one. Everyone made the usual comments to complement Mai's cooking, but it was much more subdued then usual.

Erika sat between her parents and ate slowly, something she never did. She looked over at her father. Aside from the frustration of not being able to use his chopsticks with any proficiency, he seemed impassive as usual. Erika looked over at her mother as she made small talk with Toshi and Kam. She continued to look around the table.

Aijou and Mai were talking quietly. Judging by the way that Mai kept stealing glances at Erika, Mai seemed scared that Erika was going to be taken away and never allowed to return. Erika looked down a bit, that wasn't to far from the truth. She continued around the table.

Inari was staring at Lamba. While she ate with her left hand, her right hand was on the table. Her free hand was opening and closing into a fist slowly, electricity racing around it. She looked over at Erika and nodded ever so slightly to Lamba as the electricity around her hand suddenly flared.

Erika shook her head to decline the silent, though not quite hidden offer. She did want to stay, but not if another fight had to break out to do it. Besides, she had told Shinichi that she wasn't going to break her promise. Her eyes came to rest on Hana. The young woman was a cheerful as always. Erika wondered if she even knew what was going on at this point. Finally, she came to the last chair. Shinichi's chair. She wanted to cry as she gazed at the empty seat. Before long breakfast was finished.

"It is time for us to leave." Lamba announced as he stood. He bowed to Aijou and Kam respectively. "Thank you for allowing us to stay the night."

Kam simply nodded.

Aijou glared at Lamba. "I did it for Erika's sake, not yours."

Lamba nodded, though seeming not to care, and began to turn away.

"Lamba-_dono_?" Mai's small voice called out.

The monarch turned. "Yes, little one?"

Mai looked down at the ground. "I know that you want Erika to go home with you, but…" She looked up, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "But we want Erika to stay here! She's part of our family here! Please let her stay!"

Lamba smiled. "You are quite a dependable friend to my daughter. I thank you for your kind words, but that can't be done." His smile faded. "I refuse to let my daughter be corrupted by that boy."

Mai's expression changed for a moment as Lamba's words angered her. "_Onii-chan_ doesn't corrupt anyone! He might be more direct than I am, but he's still a good person!"

"_Onii-chan_?" Lamba looked between Mai and Erika.

Erika nodded. "Mai-_chan_ is Shinichi-_kun_'s little sister, sir."

Lamba turned to Mai again. He did not smile this time. "I see." He turned and walked away.

Erika turned to her friends as her parents left the dinning room. "Well, I guess this is goodbye you guys." She turned to follow her parents. "I don't know if I'll get to see you guys again, but I'll try. Ok?"

"Erika!" Aijou yelled at the retreating girl. "Damn it Erika! If you walk away now, it's hardly going to be a fair fight! This isn't how I wanted to win!"

Erika stopped for a moment. "Don't worry Aijou. I'm not going to just let you win." She turned her head back and flashed a quick smile. "Shinichi-_kun_ is to important to me to just walk away completely. I'm just going to give you some time without my competition to level the field!"

Aijou stared in shock.

"This isn't how I wanted to win?" Inari questioned mockingly. "I thought you said you didn't like that ass."

"Aijou? Do you really like _onii-chan_?" Mai asked nervously.

Kam shook his head, as did Toshi.

Hana laughed and clapped her hands. "How wonderful! Now we just have to tell Shin-_kun_ so we can start planning the wedding!"

"All of you shut up!" Aijou screamed. "I don't like him! I only said that to try and make Erika mad and get her to stay!" She ran for the front door and stopped as she saw that Erika and her family had stopped just out side the Hinata-_sou_. "_Nani_?" She looked around them and saw Shinichi standing at the top of the stairs that lead to the street. He stood so that he blocked the path. His arms were crossed over his chest and a large, black, case rested by his feet.

Shinichi grinned smugly. "You screwed up Lamba. You got so mad at me that you forgot protocol and screwed up big time."

Lamba stepped forward. "And how is it that I screwed up, as you put it?"

Shinichi smiled. "Aunt Su came to visit us every once in awhile."

"You do not have the right to call her that!" Lamba almost barked, showing his anger for the first time since his arrival.

Shinichi started to walk forward. "She'd tell us all about her travels all over the world with Aunt Motoko. I was surprised at how many rules there are to follow when a member of the Molmolian Royal Family goes to visit someone in another country. For example, they can not have their guards with them cause they might not be aware of a custom or law and start an international incident by accident."

"What is your point in all of this?" Lamba demanded.

Shinichi continued, ignoring Lamba. "There is one that says when eating with a ruler or leader of equal stature, the Molmolian can't eat until the other person begins. I've never understood that one."

"Get to the point."

"My personal favorite is the one that when any member of the Royal Family, especially the king, is supposed to present a gift to the person their visiting immediately." Shinichi looked around Lamba to Aijou. "Did he give you anything?"

Aijou shook her head in the negative.

Shinichi sighed, his plan rested on that gamble, luckily it paid of. "Tell me Lamba, what happens when the king forgets about that rule?"

Lamba attempted to keep his face neutral, but his anger could be seen in his eyes. "He must honor any request of the person who he visits." Lamba continued to glare at Shinichi.

Shinichi nodded. "Will you honor that custom now?" He waited until Lamba nodded. "Then, I ask that you allow Erika to stay here at the Hinata-_sou_ if that is what she wants to do."

"Same for me." Aijou seconded.

Lamba continued to glare at Shinichi as he heard the other members of the house ask the same thing.

Erika smiled and almost began to cry as the others supported her.

Amalla walked over and gently placed her hand on Lamba's shoulder. "It would seem they have us."

Lamba shrugged off Amalla's touch and turned to his daughter. "Is this what you want? To stay here?"

Erika nodded. "Yes, sir. I do."

Lamba turned away. "Very well. I release you from your promise to return home." He walked toward the stairs, preparing to leave.

"Lamba!" Shinichi called. "We're not done here."

Lamba turned to face Shinichi again. "You are trying my patience now boy."

Shinichi picked up the black case by the stairs. "Shut up and listen for a change." He held out the case to Lamba. "Since I'm quoting your rules back at you, I think its only fair that I follow them as well. I walked away from our fight yesterday, a serious breach of honor, I compensate you for it now."

Lamba looked at the outstretched case. "What is this?"

"My life forces me to travel light." Shinichi locked eyes with Lamba. "Your customs state that something of considerable value must be turned over if a fighter walks away from an unfinished fight. This is all I have, this is all I can submit to you."

Lamba was surprised by the fact that Shinichi was so well versed in the customs of Molmol. He had been considering leaving Shinichi holding his gift, in an attempt to shame him. Now he though differently. He took the case and opened it.

Erika gasped as she saw the golden shine of Shinichi's saxophone. "He's giving that up for me?"

Aijou nodded, with mixed feelings. "Yeah, that's just the kind of guy he is. Sacrificing of himself for his friends."

Lamba closed the case again, and nodded knowingly. "I accept your gift." He began to descend the long steps. "But I still do not approve of you."

"Lamba. Whatever your beef with my old man is, leave me out of it. Erika too for that matter." Shinichi turned to watch Lamba walking away. "Not that I care what you think of me, but just what are you not approving of me for?"

Lamba turned, a look of confusion mixed with shock on his face. "Are you not aware? My daughter has chosen you for her suitor. Are you not defending her so that two may one day be married?"

"Married?" Shinichi face faulted. "What the hell? I'm not even thirteen! I've never even had a girlfriend! No way I'm getting married for a good long while!" Shinichi started yelling at Lamba. "I gave you a fight payment! Not an engagement gift!"

Amalla smiled. "So you defended her because you are just friends?"

"Yeah!"

Lamba studied Shinichi again, and then walked away. Once out of earshot of the children, he turned to his wife. "Perhaps…your father was mistaken in his assessment of our kin."

Amalla smiled, walking on. "Perhaps one day, you will tell them that face to face."

Lamba nodded. "Perhaps." He turned as he heard shouts from up above the stairs.

"No! I'm not getting married!" Shinichi screamed. "I'm not! Where's my stuff? I'm leaving! You people are all deranged!"

"Shinichi-_kun_! Don't run away!" Erika pleaded. "I promise I'll be a very good wife for you!"

"He doesn't want you! So back off you spaz!" Aijou yelled.

"_Onii-chan_!" Mai yelled. "Can I be the flower girl at your wedding?"

"Not you too _imouto_!" Shinichi cried.

"This is entertaining, seeing the ass squirm like this." Came Inari's voice.

"And all the photos I can get from this!" Hana squealed.

"No!" Shinichi wailed.

"How come he gets all the attention?" Kam asked in a sulky tone.

"You really want that kind of attention?" Questioned Toshi.

"Maybe not…" Kam admitted.

"I can't take this anymore!"

Lamba watched as Shinichi sprinted past him, with the rest of the household close behind. He watched as the smiling youths ran into the city. "Yes, perhaps I will tell them someday." He walked on with Amalla and headed for home.

ooooo

A figure in a hooded black trench coat was watching the Hinata-_sou_ from afar. He was not pleased. "I had thought informing the foreign monarchs of the location of their missing daughter would be fodder enough to pull them apart." He scratched his chin. "But they are indeed resourceful, and now closer then ever."

He paused to think. "Still, this exercise was most informative. Besides, the stronger their bonds are now, the more devastating the break will be when they are pulled apart." He studied the Hinata-_sou_ residents as the came home. "That one. That one is next." He smiled, and rubbed his finger against his chin. "And I know just how to do it too." He then vanished without a trace.

ooooo

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai entered her brother's room and sat beside him at his small table. "How come your studying alone tonight?"

Shinichi looked up and smiled. "I can't rely on Aijou's help forever. Have to try to use my brain once and a while."

Mai nodded. "_Onii-chan_?"

"_Hai_?"

"I miss Mama and Papa." Mai looked down at the table. "I've been having so much fun with everyone here that I guess I haven't noticed until now just how much I miss them. But seeing Erika with her parents…"

Shinichi pushed his books away and placed an arm around his sister's shoulders. "I'm sorry kiddo. I'm so used to being away, I didn't notice." He paused. "If you want, I can set you up on a flight home."

Mai looked up at her brother. "Are you coming too?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Not yet…"

"Then I'll stay too." Mai answered quickly. "But…I just wish I could hear their voices for a while."

Shinichi thought about it for a moment. "Well, I don't know where the old man is, but…" He stood and motioned for Mai to follow him. They came to the main phone in the Hinata-_sou_ living room. Shinichi picked up the phone and dialed the numbers. He held the phone out to Mai. "It should connect in a few moments."

Mai looked at her brother, a bit surprised. "But…What if they trace the call and come to take us home?"

Shinichi shrugged. "We'll deal with that if and when it happens." He smiled. "Let me worry about that stuff. You just talk with mom for as long as you like."

Mai took the phone. "Thank you, _Onii-chan_." She looked on sadly as he turned and walked away. "Don't you want to talk with Mama?"

Shinichi paused. "I do…but I can't. Not yet. Just…say hello for me or something." He started to walk away again.

Mai nodded as the phone connected. "Mama?"

ooooo

Inari walked across the roof and sat on the edge. "I talked to Yukimura today."

Shinichi groaned. "You didn't say anything did you?"

"I told her she was a bitch." Inari answered honestly. "Why'd you let her treat you like that?"

Shinichi shrugged. "It's her restaurant, she can do what she wants with it."

Inari shook her head. "How is it that you can take on a ruler of a sovereign nation, but you let a café owner walk all over you?"

Shinichi turned to Inari. "What did Kanno-san tell you?" He smiled as he saw Inari shift in discomfort. "She said she was scared of me. I don't want to put her through any more trouble."

"You probably saved her life!" Inari yelled. "Letting you keep your job would be the least she could do!"

Shinichi shook his head. "She gave me a job when no one else would, I owed her." He smiled. "The debt is repaid, so I'm ok with that."

Inari sighed. "You have a strange value system."

Shinichi's smile widened. "Yeah, but it works." He stood. "I think I'm going to call it a night."

Inari turned as Shinichi walked away. "Hey?"

Shinichi stopped. "What's up?"

"Christmas is in a couple weeks." Inari began. "I need to go pick up some gifts. I was wondering…if maybe… you could help me pick out some things for the others?"

Shinichi blinked. He was the last person he would have though that Inari would have asked for help. He nodded. "Sure. After school tomorrow?"

Inari nodded. "Sure." She looked away. "Good night."

Shinichi wondered why Inari was acting so weird and went inside. "Night."

End

ooooo

Star: Is Ginryuu ok?

Rider: He just has some indigestion. (turns to readers) Ok people, you know the deal here. Please leave a little something if you have the time, to comment on the work here. Till the next, live well all.

Star: I've never seen a silver dragon turn green…Oh! Bye! (turns to walk away) Rider? What did he eat?

Rider: Wraiths.

Star: Oh…what?


	12. Strange Alliances

Rider: _Konichiwa Minasan_! (stares at the empty audience) Wow, guess I have been gone a real long time.

Wraiths: Yeah, only like half a year idiot.

Star: Where the hell were you?

Rider: Work, work, work, then work some more. Then I transferred schools which was pulling teeth. Moving, more teeth lost. But at least summer was fun.

Star: You're such a loser.

Rider: Bite me princess. (turns to a few readers who showed up) Anyway, sorry for the massive delay everyone. I've said it before, but I'll try again, I will try to be more consistent in updates. No promises though, class and work are eating a lot of time

Wraiths: You doing mail?

Rider: It's been so long I don't remember which ones haven't been addressed, so not this time. (turns back to readers) Catch you at the end people. Enjoy the story.

wwwww

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina in any way, shape, form, context, yada yada yada. Does anyone even read this? I'm mean, really?

Change of Hearts

Chapter Twelve: Strange Alliances

"So let me get this straight." The young man leaned against the wall, his face hidden in the shadows. A short distance away a group of young men rested against their motorcycles, patiently waiting for him. "You're going to pay me how much to take out these kids for you?"

The figure in the black trench coat shook his head. "No, I want them beaten...broken. Not dead." He smiled, the only truly noticeable trait beneath his hood. "Not yet any way." He reached out with a gloved hand and produced a photograph, seemingly from thin air. "This is the only one you are to engage. Do not touch the rest." He paused in consideration. "You may find this useful as well." He handed over a manila envelope which he pulled from his jacket sleeve.

The younger man took the photo and smiled sadistically. "This one? I would have done this one free." He crushed the photo and dropped it to the ground before attempting to open the envelope.

"Leave that until the target is in your possession."

The younger man raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and placed the small package in his bag. "I have some unfinished business with some people in that crew." He reached into the bag by his feet and removed a blazer. "There will be damage outside the target. Count on it."

The hidden man paused, but eventually nodded. "That is acceptable. However..." He threw a newspaper, again seeming to come from nowhere, at the younger man. "Do not over step your boundaries. Our last associate became greedy. He met a most unfortunate end."

The young man caught the paper and looked to an article on the slain mob boss. "I see. That was you guys." He smiled as he donned first his blazer followed by his heavy, leather riding jacket. "Well, don't worry. The _Yamainu_ might not have the same resources as the Yakuza, but we take care of our own work much more cleanly." He pushed off the wall where he rested. "We'll take care of your little problem."

"There can be no connection between you and I." The trench coat rustled as the other man turned. "If you succeed, the remainder of your money will be transferred, and you may take the credit for your gang." He smiled a bit. "But should you fail..." Though his eyes couldn't be seen, he nodded at the paper in the other man's hand. "There will be equally swift repayment for that as well."

The younger man shrugged and tossed the newspaper on the ground unconcerned. "We won't fail." He walked away towards his waiting motorcycle. "And don't make threats you can't back up." He lifted his leg over the motorcycle and sat, confidently observing the man in the trench coat. "We're not weaklings like the Yakuza. If you try to come for us, we'll take you out first. " He opened the throttle and gunned his engine. "Make the first payment by the time I get out of class today."

The man in the trench coat smiled as he watched the motorcycle gang ride off after their leader. He lifted his head slightly and laughed openly. He then lowered his head again. "Follow them. When it's done, kill them all." He turned and walked off in the opposite direction as two shadows moved in the direction the bikers had taken.

wwwww

Aijou rose from her futon and grabbed some cloths from her closet. "It's got to be a crime to make school start so early." She glanced at the calendar on her wall. "Three weeks until Christmas?" She paused. "I wonder what I should get for the others." She walked over to her desk and pulled out an envelope from her drawer. Upon opening the envelope she saw the stack of yen within it. "I didn't save as much as I thought..." She whispered sadly. "I'll have to get a holiday job or something." She returned her money to the drawer and headed towards the bath. She opened the door and found Mai already in the changing room. "Good morning."

Mai turned and seemed to get a bit nervous. "Oh, good morning Aijou. I didn't know any one else was up this early."

Aijou blinked a bit in surprise. "Aren't the others training?"

Mai nodded. "I meant that no one would be here."

Aijou paused as the younger girl fidgeted under her gaze. Ever since the first day she arrived, Aijou could only remember one time that Mai bathed with the others. Aijou also remembered how upset Mai had gotten because of Erika. "How come you always try to bathe alone?"

Mai shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "It just happens to work out that way."

Aijou frowned, knowing that Mai was hiding something. "You took off in terror the day when Erika knocked your towel off. What's wrong?" She leaned in as Mai mumbled a response. "Say again?"

"It's because I look like a boy!" Mai yelled at her.

Aijou blinked, completely lost. "What?"

Mai looked at the ground. Her voice was low and sad. "I don't look anything like you or the other girls. I look like a boy. The only time I look like a girl is..." Mai gasped and covered her mouth.

Aijou tried to hold back, but failed and began to laugh. "That's what you're so nervous about?"

Mai pouted and looked away. "You didn't have to laugh."

Aijou continued to laugh. "Sorry, sorry." She walked over and patted Mai on the head. "You're still young kid. Don't worry so much."

Mai turned again and looked between Aijou's face and Aijou's chest. Mai sighed, defeated. "Easy for you to say."

Aijou laughed again and leaned in a bit closer to Mai. "If you promise not to tell, I'll let you in on a little secret."

Mai nodded slowly.

"These only came around about a year ago." Aijou whispered.

Mai blinked and pulled back a little. "Really?"

Aijou nodded. "Give it a little time." She opened the door from the changing room to the bath. "Don't be in such a rush to grow up either. Life's more fun that way."

Mai entered the bath, still clutching her towel tight about her body. "I guess..."

Aijou thought silently for a moment. "Hey? What do you say we go shopping after school today? Get some new outfits for Christmas?" She grinned slightly. "Maybe find something a new for your holiday wardrobe?"

Mai's eyes brightened a bit. "Like a girl's day out?" She smiled. "I've never been invited to something like that."

Aijou smiled. "So?"

Mai nodded her head vigorously. "_Hai_."

Aijou twiddled her fingers a moment. "And maybe...you could help me pick out some gifts? I'm kind of on a budget this year."

Mai nodded. "Sure, we Maehara's are pretty good bargain hunters." She brought her hand to her lower lip as she thought of something. "Oh, that reminds me..."

Aijou perked her head up a bit. "_Nani_?"

Mai waved her hands in a panic. "It's nothing! Really!" She moved away toward the sink to wash. She held up the soap toward Aijou. "Would you like me to wash your back?"

"That'd be great. Thank you." Aijou sat on the stool and faced the mirror. "So what kind of gifts to you think I can get for everyone?"

Mai began to lather Aijou's back as she thought. "Definitely something edible for Erika. For Toshi, _ano_, maybe something with sports since she's so athletic. A new kendo sword perhaps?"

Aijou frowned. "Kendo equipment is kind of pricey."

Mai nodded. "Right, sorry." She paused a moment. "What would...Kamali like?"

Aijou looked back over her shoulder. "Kam?" She grinned a bit. "Just get him a rock."

"A rock!" Mai exclaimed. "That's not very nice a thing to say!"

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding!" Aijou laughed. She glanced back again at Mai's expression. "You're serious?"

"I would like to get him something nice." Mai admitted, a small blush reddening her pale cheeks.

Aijou thought for a moment. "He always has that antiquated CD player of his with him, so a new CD or two would probably make him happy."

"CD's?" Mai brought a hand to her chin in thought. "Kamali likes music?" She picked up a bucket to rinse the soap off Aijou's back. "Perhaps..."

Aijou looked back again. "What are you scheming?"

Mai's face began to turn red for the second time in just a few minutes. "I'm not scheming anything!"

Aijou grinned. "You're hiding something Mai-_chan_! What are you planning?"

Mai blushed deeper. "N-nothing!" She looked away. "I'm just thinking about my shopping list."

Aijou smiled knowingly. "I'll bet." She shrugged her shoulders and stood. "Come on. I'll wash your back now."

Mai looked away, unconsciously gripping at her bath towel. "You don't have too..."

"Oh get over here." Aijou grabbed Mai and sat her down on the bath stool. "You've got to get over this shyness issue." She smiled as Mai nodded. She stared at Mai's back as she towel fell. "Mai-_chan_ what happened here?"

The young girl looked over her shoulder. "_Nani_?"

"Where did you get this scar?" Aijou demanded.

Mai reached back and ran her hand over the faded, but visible, mark on her back. "That's not a scar, it's just a birthmark."

"I know for a fact that you didn't have that before you left the Hinata-sou for America." Aijou replied. "Who did this to you?"

Mai blinked. "Aijou, I'm not lying. It's a birthmark."

The older girl remained unconvinced, but Mai seemed so sure of her self that Aijou couldn't really push the issue. "All right, if you say so." She scrubbed Mai's back for a moment in silence before she felt the need to break the tension. "Anyway, we have food for Erika, sports gear for Toshi, what about Hana?"

"Hana-_onee-chan_ will be easy to shop for." Mai smiled. "Since she comes from such a large family, they don't always get a lot of presents. So, the fact that you want to get her something at all will mean more to her than the actual gift."

"But I don't want to get her just anything." Aijou protested.

Mai shook her head. "I didn't mean just get anything, but something heartfelt will mean more than something expensive."

Aijou thought for a moment. "Hana's been taking a lot of pictures lately."

Mai's face lit up in excitement. "The pictures are stored on Erika's computers. I think I have a good idea for her gift!" She looked back over her shoulder. "What about Inari?"

Aijou frowned. "I have no idea. She's so much more secretive than when we were kids." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll look around town when we go out, maybe I'll get inspired." She continued to scrub Mai's back. "What about your brother?"

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai rested her head in her hands in thought. "Maybe...no. Perhaps...no. Oh! You could get him a...no, that won't work either."

"Is he really that difficult to shop for?" Aijou asked.

Mai shook her head. "It's not that, but, you heard what he said. 'My life forces me to travel light.'"

Aijou remembered the scene with Shinichi blocking the stairway. "Actually, that gives me an idea." She lifted the bucket and rinsed the soap from Mai's back. "All done."

Mai stood and wrapped herself in her towel. "What kind of idea?"

Aijou smiled. "Now you'll just have to wait and see."

Mai pouted out her lower lip ever so slightly. "Meanie." She turned back for the changing room. "I'm going to go start breakfast."

Aijou nodded and sank into the warm water of the bath. "I'll be in in a moment." She closed her eyes and rested her head against one of the many stones, attempting to gain a few more minutes of relaxation before she was forced to start her day. She sprang to attention as an image passed through her mind. "That scar! It's lighter, but it's identical otherwise to the mark on Shinichi's back!" She looked over to the changing room and she could see Mai's silhouette behind the rice paper door. Her eyes narrowed. "Something doesn't add up here."

wwwww

Toshi walked slowly up the mountain path toward where she knew Shinichi would be training. She also knew that Kam would not be joining them today. She had heard him up studying late last night for a test. She fully intended to take advantage of the time to speak with Shinichi alone. She reached the empty training area, but was not really surprised to find herself alone. She scanned the area and easily located her target.

Shinichi sat on a bluff a bit higher up, his attention focused on the mountains in the distance as the sun's rays slowly spread across the land. He watched the light as it crept its way into the darkness. He smiled at the scene. He pushed himself off of the out cropping rock he sat on and fell down toward the training area where Toshi was waiting.

Toshi watched as Shinichi vanished into the shadows that the light had not yet expelled. A few moments later she was able to see Shinichi's eyes as they reflected the light that reached toward him, but nothing else.

Shinichi stepped further into the light. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Toshi shook her head. "You're right on time. You always watch the sunrise from the mountain." She gently tossed the extra _bokken_ to Shinichi.

"I guess I do, don't I?" Shinichi caught the practice weapon and tested its weight once before tossing it aside. "You know I don't use a sword, even in practice."

Toshi sighed. "Yes, you tell me that every morning. Though, I can't understand why." She lifted her own sword in preparation to begin. "There is something I wanted to ask you about…" She lifted her _bokken_ just in time to block Shinichi's fist as he suddenly charged on her position.

"That doesn't sound good at all." Shinichi rolled to the left as Toshi weapon bit hard into the ground he was just on. "Can't this wait until later?"

"I do not think so." She pulled her sword from the dirt and spun into another attack. "I was reading the reports from the warehouse incident..."

"I'd rather just forget that night if it's all the same to you." Shinichi's fist raced toward Toshi and connected with her sword. He stood there locked in a contest of strength against her. "It wasn't exactly my finest moment. You know?"

Toshi nodded and shifted her weight to better hold her ground. "True, but I don't think you want to forget what happened that night." She pushed forward and gained some ground against Shinichi. "I think you're trying to remember it to know how to prevent it from happening ever again." She pushed again and broke through Shinichi's guard to slash at his chest.

Shinichi flipped back out of the attack range and planted himself into a defensive kenpo stance. "You talk too much." He charged her again, but dropped at the last second to sweep kick her legs.

Toshi saw the move coming and easily leapt over him. "So you say, but that's not the topic I was concerned about." She rebounded off the branches above her and waited about half-way up the trees. "I want to talk about the conversation that you and Mishima had in his office." She stopped as the saw Shinichi tense up. "I see you remember. Inari's statement said you talked, but it was in a language she didn't understand." She rested her sword against her shoulder. "What happened there?"

Shinichi leapt up and followed the path that Toshi had taken, except rather than land softly on the branch, he attacked it. The branch snapped like dry kindling and the two fighters raced further up the trees until they stopped at the top branches. "It's in the past Toshi. Let it die."

Toshi was surprised by the tone of Shinichi's voice. He may not have wanted to talk about the warehouse, but he truly wanted to forget about the conversation at the office. "You really aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Shinichi shook his head. "Not if I can avoid it. Just have to take the fifth and all." He ran across the treetops, using the springboard like effects of the bending branches to propel himself at Toshi even faster than he had on the ground.

The young detective managed to move back enough to counter the initial attack, but still caught a grazing blow to her shoulder from Shinichi's chop. Her mind ran through the various statutes that she knew of from her days at the academy. Yet, anything related to fives didn't have any apparent connection to the conversation at hand. Then the idea came to her. "You lived most of your life in America right?"

"Amongst other places." The young boy paused to let Toshi stretch out her shoulder. He realized that he was loosing control of the fight, of himself. This was only for practice. He didn't want Toshi to get hurt.

Toshi nodded as she rubbed her arm. "From what Aunt Motoko told me, you spent a year or two in San Francisco." She watched as Shinichi shifted on the branch uncomfortably and reached out her sense toward the boy. "Right about the time the Yakuza made a big move into the area…" She cried out and stumbled a bit as Shinichi roughly slapped away her _ki _senses with his own.

"Please don't do that." Shinichi looked away from Toshi, out toward the rising sun.

A million possibilities flashed through Toshi's mind as Shinichi waited for her to make the next move. She was on to something, she knew she was. "But is it worth hurting Shinichi for?" She wondered silently.

"Do you know why I come up to watch the sunrise everyday?"

Toshi snapped from her train of thought and focused on the young boy. She shook her head, puzzled as to what had brought this up.

"Did you know that light travels in a straight line? And takes almost seven minutes to reach us here on Earth?" Shinichi asked. "By the time we see the 'sunrise' it's already been up for few minutes. Those seven minutes…are the darkest part of the day. The light from the sun hasn't reached us yet, and the light reflected from the moon has been completely used up." He sighed and looked over at the sun. "For seven long, lonely minutes, the world sits in complete darkness."

"But what does that..."?

"The warehouse, and my time in San Fran, those are part of my seven minutes." Shinichi ignored Toshi's unfinished question. He shook his head. "I have to get ready for school."

"Hold on!" Toshi extended a hand to Shinichi, a futile attempt to stop him, as he dropped down into the trees. She barely felt the brief flare of _ki_ and then could sense nothing. "Shadow walk..." She sighed, knowing there was no way she would be able to find him now. She looked over at the sun, now fully over the mountains. "Seven minutes...it seems like such a short time but..." Sheathing her sword she slowly descended from her perch in the tree and walked back to the house.

She made her way slowly to her room and swapped out her red and white training clothes for her sweat suit set. Her mind was still on Shinichi's words as she left the room moved down the hall. She knocked on the door and went inside without waiting for an answer. "Erika? Just what kind of databases can you hack into with these systems of yours?"

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The day seemed to drag on forever as Kam moved from class to class. He just couldn't seem to focus. "Not that I really have to." He muttered under his breath. "Even the teachers are more concerned with the upcoming holidays than the actual lessons." He glanced around the room as casually as possible. Most of his fellow classmates were busy secretly exchanging letters with one another in attempts to find Christmas and New Years dates. He turned away, not quite as casually this time, and returned his gaze to the text the teacher was reading.

It made no sense to him. He was going to be in a house full of beautiful girls for the holidays, a few of whom he had already managed to kiss, yet he was jealous of his friends.

He shifted in his seat a bit and pulled his sketch book from beneath his text book just enough that he could draw while pretending to pay attention to class. His fingers seemed to take on a mind of there own as the lines began to make recognizable features on the page. His head tilted ever so slightly as he began to get into his task. Before he knew it, the class was over and his friends were getting ready to leave. Closing the notebook and placing it in his bag, he joined the herd of students that moved toward their lockers. As he removed his sneakers, a note fell out from within. "_Nani_?"

"They decided to go shopping?" Kam sighed as he scanned through the note, but then paused. "That works in my favor really." Grabbing his jacket and book bag, he exited the school.

"Mai, Aijou, and Hana all went shopping together." He ran down his checklist aloud. "Shin said he had a study group after class, not that I believe him with the way he's been acting lately, so that means that Inari will probably be with him too. Erika has…" Kam paused, he really had no idea where Erika was, but she had said she would be busy with something. He saw Toshi go into Erika's room this morning, but that could be totally unrelated, so he shrugged it off. "And Toshi's at home with Aunt Sarah and Amaya-_san_."

He smiled as he boarded the bus. "Which means if I'm fast I can get all my shopping done and get the presents wrapped and hidden before anyone comes home?" A few stops later he came to the local mall, and sweat dropped. "Now...If only I knew what it was I was going to buy for everyone..." As Kam entered the mall proper, he failed to hear and see the dozen or so motorcycles that came up behind him.

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"So? Who's next?" Inari looked around the mall. "Mai-_chan_? Or Toshi?"

Shinichi hoisted the bags over his shoulder. "This is your show remember? Pick one."

Inari shook her head. "You are such an ass."

Shinichi rolled his eyes but declined to reply.

Inari leaned partway over the railing and looked for her next gift idea. "Oh! Over there!" She moved off toward the escalator, pausing only to look back over her shoulder as Shinichi slowly caught up. She knew he could move faster than that, she had seen the weights he trained with after all, but she understood that he had to look the image of "the unhappy guy forced to hold all the bags" or he'd lose face in front of the other kids shopping the mall. He was the one doing her the favor; Inari could give him a little slack. "Besides," She thought silently. "He was the one to insist that he carry everything."

Shinichi joined her on the descending staircase and gave her a mock annoyed glare. "Do you have to run off like that?"

"Absolutely." Inari replied without missing a beat. "Just to piss you off." She smirked as Shinichi rolled his eyes for the millionth time today. "Ok, Mai loves to cook right?"

"Does the word 'duh' come to mind?"

Inari ignored the sarcasm that suffused Shinichi's voice. "I figure Mai knows enough about cooking that any cookbook I give her is going to be worth nothing to her." She waited as Shinichi confirmed her statement with a nod. "I also know that everyone in the Urashima family is a terrible cook."

"Not sure what that has to do with Mai's gift, but go on." Shinichi looked around the mall distractedly.

Inari didn't seem to notice Shinichi's wandering attention. "Have you seen the pots and pans that Mai uses to cook?"

"I cook too you know." Shinichi reminded her with a frown.

"Yeah, but you're not as good." Inari laughed as the tan boy glared at her. "So, instead of a useless cookbook, I'll get her a new set of pots and pans." She grinned at her idea. "Great idea right?"

Shinichi faced Inari and walked backwards off the back of the escalator. "It's ok."

Inari face faulted. "Ok!" She growled and chased after Shinichi who had kept walking. "What's wrong with this gift? You've crapped on every idea I've come up with today!"

"I have not!" Shinichi replied defensively. "You asked for my help with this remember? You keep running for gifts that are really expensive, but not as valuable."

Inari made a face. "_Nani_?"

Shinichi sighed. "Taking care of someone means more than having enough money. Sound familiar?"

Inari shook her head. "Nope. Should it?"

This time Shinichi face faulted. "Never mind. My point is that if you bought all that expensive cookware, Mai might use them once and then never again."

"What? Why?" Inari demanded confused.

Shinichi sighed again. "Those pans were my mom's when we still lived at the Hinata-sou. Even if they are battle scarred and shabby looking, they are more important to Mai."

Inari frowned. "You guys are weird with the 'emotional attachment' thing."

Shinichi smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say?"

"Hey!" Inari spun suddenly and blocked Shinichi's path. "I got another idea! What if I was to, I don't know; get the old pans repaired or recoated or whatever?"

"Now you're thinking like a Maehara." Shinichi nodded. "Mai would love something like that." He paused as he saw Inari smile brightly, brighter than he'd seen since his fuzzy memories of childhood. "She is kind of cute..." He shook his head as the stray, silent thought passed through his brain. "Stop that!"

Inari saw the shake of Shinichi's head. "Something wrong?"

Shinichi stared at Inari like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. "No! Nothing!" He looked around nervously for a moment. "Duck!"

Inari had no choice but to comply as Shinichi placed his hand on her head and forced her to crouch behind a small mall kiosk. When he allowed her to stand a few minutes later, she grabbed him by the shirt. "What the hell!"

Shinichi looked away and scratched his upper lip as Inari dangled off the ground by his collar. "Hey look. Kendo equipment."

Inari turned. "That's perfect for Toshi." She shook her head. "Hey! Don't change the subject!" She blinked as she looked at the bag of gifts in her hand. She looked around and found Shinichi a few stores away looking through the display windows. "When did he get over there without me noticing?" Slinging the bag over her shoulder she walked towards the younger boy. "And you gripe when I run off?"

Shinichi turned with a small smile. "_Gomen nasai_." He picked up the bags that were on the ground. "Shall we move on?"

Inari blinked at the smile on Shinichi's face. It was...unnatural. "You all right?"

"Yeah, fine." Shinichi moved down the hallway. "Just thought I saw a gift for someone, but it doesn't really work anymore."

Inari raised an eyebrow as she watched the boy walk away. She cast one last glance at the kimono shop before going to catch up with her companion.

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Aijou was standing in the main corridor of the mall, surrounded by various kiosks. "I could have sworn..."

Mai looked at her friend in confusion. "Is something wrong Aijou?"

"You do seem a bit confused Ai-chan." Hana walked over and placed the back of her hand against Aijou's forehead. "That's good, no fever."

Aijou pushed Hana's hand away from her face. "Of course I don't have a fever!" She continued down the corridor. "I thought I heard the voice of our resident idiot."

"_Onii-chan_?" Mai looked around and shook her head. "He said he had study group today..."

"He's said a lot of things lately that haven't been entirely accurate." Aijou regretted the words as soon as they past her lips. "I'm sorry Mai-_chan_..."

Mai shook her head. "It's ok Aijou. I'm kind of mad at him too."

Aijou blinked. "The ever forgiving Mai Maehara is mad at her brother."

"Just a very little..." Mai looked down at the ground for a moment, but then looked back up. "Where'd Hana-_onee-chan_ go?"

Hana lowered her camera as her two friends slowly walked back to where she had stopped. "I'm sorry but..." She pointed to the rafters by the skylight. "It was just too cute a picture to pass up."

Mai looked up to where Hana pointed and immediately found the small nest, and the tiny baby birds inside. "Aww, look how small they are. How do you think they got in here?"

Aijou shrugged. "Who knows?" She was about to move on when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She looked up again and brushed her blackened hair from her eyes. "Did you guys see that?"

Hana blinked and cocked her head to the side ever so slightly. "See what?"

"I thought I saw something move." Aijou squinted her eyes at the general area the nest was in. "It was like..." She shook her head. "Must be studying too hard. My eyes are getting as bad as my parent's." Shrugging it off as a trick of the eye, she continued walking. "Ok, what's next?"

Mai opened her small note book and turned to her list. "Erika's gifts are purchased. Toshi's gifts are purchased. Inari's done too." She looked between the two older girls. "I got my gifts for you two already."

Aijou blinked. "When was that? You've been with us the whole time."

Mai simply giggled. "I'm not telling."

Hana smiled. "Definitely related to Shinichi-_kun_."

Aijou nodded. "Well, I can't shop for you two with you both right here so..."

"Let's do..." Mai stopped in mid-sentence. "Kamali."

Aijou stuck out her tongue. "I thought I told you, just get him a rock."

"Nice to know I can always count on my family, _Onee-san_."

Aijou groaned as she heard Kam's voice, and the stress on the _onee-san_. She knew he only called her that when he got real ticked off. Sheepishly, she turned around. "Hey there _ototo._" She laughed nervously at the unhappy look on Kam's face. "I was just kidding..."

Kam made a face and nodded in disbelief. "Yeah, I'll bet."

Hana smiled at the newcomer to their group. "What brings you here Kamali-_kun_?"

"Same as you guys." He raised his arms and showed off the many bags he was holding. "Who knew that Shinichi's training would have real life benefits as well?"

Aijou gapped at the amount of stuff her brother was carrying. "How much did you buy?" Her eyes narrowed. "And how did you afford it all?"

Kam met his sister's stare with no fear. "I used to tutor after-school remember? And unlike you, I save my money rather than blow it all on fake hair color."

"That's it! Get over here!" Aijou lunged and hooked her thumbs into Kam's cheeks, stretching his mouth wide open. "Take that you smart talking little _bak_..._kyaaa_!"

Kam dropped his bags and returned his sister's favor by hooking her cheeks as well. "Ret oh hove I ace!"

"Ru erst! Raka!" Aijou countered.

Mai blushed and looked down at the floor. "_Auu_..."

"_Ara ara_..."

Mai looked up and saw something completely unexpected. "_Auuu_...I think this just got worse..."

Hana was frowning. She walked briskly over to the two siblings and placed a hand on each head, much like a basketball player might palm the ball. "That is quite enough!" With a push of her hands, the two children separated and let out startled yelps as they landed on their behinds.

Kam rubbed at his cheeks. "Stretched my face all funny..." He mumbled.

"Your face was already funny looking." Aijou shot back as she massaged her own cheeks. "And you!" She pointed an accusing finger at Hana. "What the hell kind of grip strength do you have? That hurt!"

Hana looked down at Aijou with an angry look that would have made her Aunt Naru proud. "What were you two thinking?" She turned the look on Kam now. "Honestly, brother and sister making a scene in public like that." She shook her head in disappointment as Kam and Aijou both shrank back from her words. She waited a moment, but nothing happened. "Well? Apologize to each other."

Kam looked up at Hana in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me..." The look in her eyes told him that she wasn't. With a defeated sigh, he turned to his sister. "_Gomen nasai Aijou_."

"Yeah, sure." Aijou replied in a hushed tone. "I'm sorry too." Her eyes flitted to Hana, and nearly face faulted as she saw that the usual smile was back in place.

Hana smiled. "That's much better! Don't you think so?"

Kam and Aijou both face faulted.

Kam was the first to recover as he heard Mai giggling. He looked up and saw that she was trying not to laugh, but was loosing ground quickly. He wasn't sure why, but that made him smile. "I never believed Mom about the stories she would tell about the bowling trips with Aunt Mutsumi." He stood and began to gather his parcels. "Now I'm not so sure."

"Yeah, me too." Aijou got to her feet a bit more slowly. "I had forgotten..." Aijou remembered silently to herself. "Hana's the oldest in her family. But, unlike Kam and I, she has many brothers and sisters. Plus, her mom's got the daycare." She watched as Kam, Mai, and Hana talked, not really listening to what they were saying. "She must fall into the peacekeeper role all the time, but... she seemed really upset to see us fight. Even if we were only goofing around."

"Are you guys done shopping for the day?" Kam asked suddenly.

Hana shook her head. "We still have to get our gifts for you and Shinichi-_kun_."

Kam grinned. "Gifts for me? How lucky!"

"Don't get a fat head _baka_." Aijou warned.

"Just for that, you're not invited." Kam stuck his tongue out at Aijou.

"Invited?" The dark haired teen turned to the other girls. "To what?"

Mai blushed slightly. "We were talking about the new _okashi_ shop around the corner from the mall." Her blush deepened a bit more and she looked down at the ground. "I mentioned that I wanted to stop in there to see what they might have for the holidays..." She trailed off as her face continued to darken.

"Kamali-_kun_ was gracious enough to offer to treat us." Hana finished as she saw Mai's predicament.

Aijou looked at her brother with a small hint of surprise. "Seriously? You're buying?"

Kam scoffed. "Not for you after that 'rock' comment."

"Oh come on!" Aijou pleaded. "I said I was kidding!"

Kam seemed to think it over for a minute before nodding. "You better get me a real nice gift."

Aijou raised a fist in triumph. "Yes! _Okashi_ here we come!"

The four children made their way thorough the mall and out the exit. They passed a flower shop where the owner was watering his plants. Though they easily sidestepped the excess runoff that spilled into the street, they were too involved in there own conversations to notice the motorcycles that tracked their way through the puddles.

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"Thanks for stopping by!" Amaya called to her customers as they left the Hinata Café. "Please come again!" She smiled as the customers turned and waved goodbye.

Sarah came out from the back room wearing Haruka's old apron. "You've definitely taken a liking to this."

Amaya smiled and shrugged. "Beats my last job, and definitely the one before that."

Sarah pulled out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket. "Yeah, I guess so."

Amaya watched as Sarah pulled a cigarette from the pack with her lips and lit it with her free hand all in one deft motion. "Didn't you used to harp on Haruka for smoking those things?"

The blonde took a deep drag and sighed. "Shut up."

The handicapped woman smiled and began to clear the table used by the last customers. "It's almost funny in a way."

Sarah looked up at the ceiling. "What is?"

"The way history repeats itself over and over again." Amaya gathered the dishes together on the table. "There's never really a break in the pattern of our lives."

Sarah took another deep puff of her cancer stick and let it out slowly. "You say funny. I say it's sad." She brought her gaze down from the ceiling tiles to where Amaya sat looking at her. "All that means...is that we keep making the same mistakes over again."

Amaya frowned as she placed the dirty dishware in her lap. "Maybe it's not a mater of mistakes though Sarah. Maybe we're doing things right over and over."

Sarah snorted and ground her cigarette into the ashtray with only half consumed. "Right, I really like having to fight some crazy fanatics every few years to keep sharp." She paused a moment. "No offense."

"None taken."

Sarah turned to head back into the kitchen to prepare for the dinner rush. "You need any help with those?"

Amaya shook her head. "I've got them." No sooner had Sarah left and Amaya's wheelchair started to roll when an unbalanced glass half filled with water crashed to the ground. "Damn it..." Amaya muttered.

Placing the other dishes back on the table, she reached down to recover the scattered shards of glass. She pulled her hand back as she cut her finger on some glass just enough to draw blood. She watched as a single drop of blood connected with the water, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Sarah!"

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"Hey To-to!" Erika called from high within her tree.

Toshi looked up from the computer at Erika's desk. "What did you just call me?"

Erika hung from the branch by her knees and held her laptop in her hands. "What? You don't like the nickname I made for you?"

Toshi shook her head. "No. No, I don't. Reminds me of a really cheese move my roommate at the academy used to watch non-stop." She stretched her hands over her head. "You find anything?"

"Maybe." She swung up onto the branch and made her way to the trunk to climb down. She set the portable computer down in Toshi's lap. "Nothing that would stand up in court, but..." She pointed to the photo of an old newspaper article.

"I'll be damned..." Toshi whispered. She jerked in her chair as alarm klaxons began to sound though the biosphere that was Erika's room. "What now?"

Erika typed a few commands into her computer. "Movement from the café." She pulled up a live video feed.

Both girls watched as Sarah and Amaya climbed into Sarah's giant, blue, SUV and speed off.

"She drives like her father..." Toshi mumbled. "Hey? How are we still getting a video feed?"

Erika opened her desk drawer and pulled out a small construct. "I call them the Mecha-InukiR's!"

"The R's being for..."Toshi prodded.

"Reconnaissance of course." Erika grinned mischievously. "Wanna follow them?"

Toshi nodded. "They did leave rather quickly."

Erika sped through a few more commands and the trees parted to reveal a new, larger version of the Mecha-Inuki. "Our chariot awaits! _Yosh_!"

Toshi tried to fight against Erika's pull, but soon found herself in the cockpit. "But I need my..." She stopped as the real Inuki leapt into the cockpit with Toshi's katana in her mouth.

Both girls looked at each other more than a bit confused. At the same instant, they seemed to recall the same memory, and looks of horror entered their eyes.

"Step on it." Toshi ordered.

Erika nodded and slammed her foot against the pedal. With a howl the metal pooch burst through the window in Erika's room, taking most of the molding with it, and sprinted down the street.

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The soda bottle seemed to fall in slow motion as Shinichi turned his gaze toward the far side of the Hinata District Shopping Mall. His mouth went dry and he could suddenly taste pennies at the back of his throat. He could hear the mental switch click his brain from logic and reason over to instinct.

Inari saw the abrupt change in Shinichi's face from playful banter to complete and total terror. "Shin..." She found her self suddenly overloaded as Shinichi forced his packages into Inari's hands. "What's...?" She jumped back in fear herself as dark _ki_ flared all around Shinichi, _ki_ more powerful than she had ever felt him expend.

"_Zensokuryoku no Kage_!"

Inari stared as a Shinichi vanished from her sight and senses. She finally realized that she was holding her breath and forced herself to let it out a moment later. "That wasn't Shadow Walk." She murmured. "What was that?"

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The rider of the lead motorcycle glanced into his rearview mirror. Disappearing rapidly into the distance he could see the three prone figures and their now broken Christmas gifts on the ground. He smiled. "Easy money." He adjusted his mirror so that he could view his new hostage. His smile shifted into a feral grin. "But the best is yet to come." He raised his hand and signaled his group to rev up as they raced faster onto the highway out of the city.

The only remaining proof of his deeds floated gently on the winds behind him for but a moment before falling to the ground and being crushed into the pavement by the remaining motorcycles. A few stray hairs from his victim.

Long, blonde, hairs.

End

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Rider: It feels good to write again. How did everyone like it? Or not like it? You guys know how it works. Please leave a little something if you have the time and desire.

Star: _Bai-bai_!

Wraiths: _Sayonara_.

Rider: _Shitsureshimasu_. 'Till the next, live well.


	13. Only in the Darkest Dream Can We See Who

Rider: _Ohaiyo minna_! (listens to the chirping of crickets) Guess I deserve that after two years of not touching this story…

Star: You're an idiot.

Wraiths: Yeah, got to agree with her on that.

Rider: Oh shut up. (turns back to readers) Well, anyway, I re-found my inspiration to work on this story, so yeah. This chapters a bit short for my tastes, but like I said after two years…I've got to get back into it again. So yeah, please enjoy.

OOOOO

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. It is property of Ken Akamatsu-sama, Shounen magazine (Kodansha), TV Tokyo, Production IG, and the good people over at Bandai Entertainment. If I've forgotten someone at this point, frak it, I don't care. I think I've made my point about where the ownership lays.

OOOOO

Change of Hearts

Chapter 13: Only in the Darkest Dream Can We See Who We Are

It was impossible to identify, but somehow it had become conscious. It floated free though the dark realm of dreams shattered, half memories that lied, and nightmares better long forgotten. It did not want to be here, yet it was compelled to remain. So the consciousness continued to float aimlessly.

From the darkness came images. Images of trust. Images of betrayal. Images of pain. Images of love. Images of hatred. Images of joy. Images of sadness. Images of longing. Images of desire. Images of power. Countless more came and bombarded the consciousness, and it was helpless to stop it. It had no eyes to shut, and so it was forced to endure this kaleidoscope of emotion at it rawest.

It was powerless to protect itself.

The hollow void next became over crowded with sound. Voices came at it from all sides. Voices of affection. Voices of belittlement. Voices of anger. Voices of praise. Voices of condescension. Voices of acceptance. Voices of denial. Voices of condemnation. Voices of hope. Voices of demons. Voices of angels. Voices of friends. Voices of enemies.

Voices that were both.

All this and more came and poured into the consciousness. But still, it could do nothing to stop it. It could sense itself being torn apart. To much to comprehend and not enough time to do so. It tried to expand outward to accept everything, but only succeeded in weakening itself further

It was going to cease to be. It had not truly been born, so it could not truly die. As it had come, so would it go. But lost forever would be the experiences it had gained.

It did not want to forget.

Light flashed suddenly through the darkness exposing all that was. Casting definition on the plethora of things that could not be defined. It focused everything into a perfect vision that was easy to understand.

But it was too late. The consciousness was already faded into nothingness once again.

00000

Aijou was still piecing together what had just hit her when the death-cold wind sliced across her back. When she saw the source of the gust, the chill went deeper into her body. Part of her had known it would be him. Another part had hoped she was wrong. "Shinichi?"

The dark _ki_ which surrounded his body seemed to move as if it had a will of it's own. It clawed at the blacktop of the street. Despite it's cold touch, it's graze left long deep marks in the street with the tar boiling along the sides.

"Shinichi?" Aijou called again.

Finally, his head turned toward her slightly. His eyes burned with the same cold fire that surrounded his flesh. "Aijou?" As he spoke, gouts of black fire spilled from his mouth. "I've lost her trail."

Aijou cringed at the hollow tone of his voice, emotionless as the day they had found Inari. She shook her head against the thought. He recognized her here. Whatever this was, it wasn't the same thing as the other times. Was it?

"Where did they go?"

Aijou snapped from her thoughts. "He already knows." She thought silently.

"Aijou, please."

Her head jerked up at the words. They were straight and to the point, but she could hear his concern even masked behind the strange power that had over taken him. Whatever this thing was, Shinichi was proving to be stronger as he fought through it. "I don't know…" She pointed toward the highway. "That was the last direction I saw them go in."

Shinichi nodded once. "_Zensokuryoku…_"

"Demon Banishing Blade!" Toshi seemed to fall from the sky itself as her blade was drawn. "Final Form!" She landed on her feet and skidded to a halt a few meters away. Her katana shone brightly for a moment more as she whipped it around and into her sheath. She slid it in until only the final inch was left exposed. She looked back over her shoulder at the mass of black energy.

Shinichi turned, his body seeming to move in ways that should not have been anatomically possible. "Curse you…Aoyama."

Toshi's eyes narrowed as she slammed the sword the rest of the way into the sheath. "Dispel."

Kam regained consciousness just in time to wish he hadn't. He watched, with a front row seat, as Shinichi screamed as though his very soul was being ripped from his body.

Aijou watch in horror as Shinichi's muscle contorted under the overload of his own _ki_ mixing with Toshi's.

Hana was forced to turn away as tears filled her eyes.

Erika could only stare dumbfounded from her seat in her mecha. She didn't even notice that Inuki was writhing in pain beside her.

Even Toshi stood transfixed. She had not anticipated such a violent backlash.

No one noticed when a blue SUV screeched onto the scene. Amaya took in the seen with a moment's notice. She looked over at her friend and the plan was already formed.

No words were exchanged as Sarah jumped from her seat and ran to the passenger side door. She grabbed Amaya and carried her toward the still screaming child, dodging the stray _ki_ blasts that came to close. She felt Amaya's weight shift in her arms and looked ahead. Instantly she saw the heat mirages and knew what her partner was doing. "How close?"

"I need to be in contact with him." Amaya motioned to Shinichi. "If I come in contact with him I might have a shot to close him down."

Sarah nodded. She wasn't completely reassured by the statement, but it was better than nothing. She moved faster now, protected by the steam barriers Amaya had made. She was cautious not to get to close however, she still remembered her own last encounter with cursed shields. With her efforts redoubled it took only seconds, though each felt like a lifetime, for them to reach Shinichi.

"Place me over his shoulders." Amaya instructed. She grasped her hands together as her friend helped her into place. "Get the others and take cover."

Sarah nodded. She paused slightly before turning away. "He's tough." She moved away quicker now, no longer protected by Amaya's _chi_. "Don't hold back." She continued on and gathered the other Hinata-_sou_ tenants behind her truck.

Startled from her daze, Aijou finally found her voice once again. "What's happened to him?"

Sarah's only reply was to push Aijou's head down as a bolt of dark _ki_ skipped off the hood of the car taking the paint with it. "Just like last time…"

"What's just like last time?" Kam demanded. "The last two times have been nothing like this!"

Sarah turned, horror clearly readable on her face. She grabbed Kam by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. "What do you mean 'the last two times'?"

"He has shown this, mental state, before." Toshi responded quietly. "But not in conjunction with a technique such as this." She pulled her blade slowly. "Never has his focus been so strong and pure nor…" She held up the blade for all to see. "His sacrifice."

Hana turned away from the sight.

"Is that…" Kam reached for the blade, only to have his sister stop him.

Aijou nodded. "Blood."

Sarah turned back to watch Amaya continue to work. She didn't like the fact that there were now multiple steam barriers in place around them. The space inside was also sealed off by a curtain of darkness. "We need to go."

"You know about it." Toshi wiped down the blade slowly, still in something of a daze. "About that. His _kinjutsu_."

Sarah turned and locked eyes with the young detective. "I know we're all in danger. Now shut up and move your ass. All of you!"

Aijou was about to follow when the ground shook beneath her. She sat on the ground a moment. "I hate this."

Kam turned. "_Nani_?"

"_Kirai_!" Aijou screamed. "Everyone is just…just…" She looked over at Kam. "I… I think I understand what's going through Shin's mind." She rushed to her feet and ran towards the pillar of dark light. "Shinichi! You stupid jerk! You…_baka_! Stop trying to do everything on your own! _Baka_! _Baka_!"

Toshi's head snapped upright a moment later. She jumped to her feet and ran after her friend. "Aijou! Get back! It's going to…" Her world went dark as Shinichi's _ki_ went wild. A second later light flashed behind her eyes as her head was slammed into one of the nearby buildings. "Unbelievable…so much raw power…" Her world fell dark again as her mind slipped into unconsciousness.

Aijou lowered her hands slowly from in front of her face. She had reacted purely out of instinct to try and protect herself. Somehow, it had paid off. "Holy…" She looked around at the street in disbelief.

Store front windows were blown out and glass littered the street. Soot and burning trash floated through the air. Sarah's SUV was overturned and one of the tires was on fire as well.

Aijou couldn't believe what she saw. "The others…" She looked around, panicked now about the well being of her friends. She found them one by one, helping them to their feet. They were groggy, bumped, and bruised, but overall fine. She sighed in relief.

Shinichi was the last she made her way to. Aijou gasped at what she saw.

His clothing lay in burning tatters around his body. He was prone to the ground and his face was dangerously near a puddle of rapidly cooling blacktop tar. His body was covered in cuts, bruises, and burns. His arm looked as though it was broken, and his shoulder blade protruded far beyond where it should have been. His hair was smoking and charred.

Aijou forced herself to swallow. Something grabbed her ankle as she tried to move toward the boy causing her to scream and jump away. She fell to the ground as she lost her balance to the uneven footing. "You…you're the woman from the café."

Amaya nodded. "Don't touch Shinichi. He's still charged."

"Charged?" Aijou moved to her feet and went to help the other woman. Aijou noted with some confusion that Amaya was nearly as beat up as Shinichi. "What do you mean charged? What is he? The Ever-ready bunny?" Somehow finding the strength to joke despite the situation

Amaya chuckled dryly. "Something like that…" She looked over at the boy. "Get Sarah. She'll know what to do."

Aijou nodded and placed Amaya's arm over her shoulder before carrying her toward the others. She passed Amaya to Erika and watched silently as they disappeared into the princess' mecha. She turned toward where Sarah stood smoking a cigarette.

Sarah turned her gaze slightly as the teenager approached her. "Don't."

"Don't what?" Aijou asked confused.

Sarah finished her cigarette and crushed it under her heel. She reached into her pocket and retrieved another cigarette and lit it. "Don't ask me anything."

"Do you know anything?" Aijou crossed her arms over her chest. It was not a move of defiance, it was more like she suddenly caught a chill.

"I told you not to ask me anything." Sarah read Aijou's body language in an instant. "Get in the mecha. You're going into shock."

"I'm not even hurt."

"Touch your face." Sarah took another puff of her cigarette as she watched from the corner of her eye.

Aijou stared at her bloody hand. "When?"

"Doesn't matter." Sarah turned away, continuing her smoke. "Get in the mecha before I have to haul you in too." She waited until Aijou was gone to grind the butt of her cigarette under her heel. She reached for another, but found only the empty pack. "Damn…" She crushed the container and left it sitting by the small pile of crushed cigarette butts. She stuck her hands in her pockets as she walked toward the still unconscious boy. She could still feel her hands shaking. She surveyed Shinichi slowly. "Most of the really bad stuff is already healed." Sarah swallowed hard. "Damn Ken…" She crouched low and traced the tips of her index and middle finger down the length of Shinichi's scar. "What the hell did you do to him?"

00000

She woke slowly. Her head hurt and her vision was groggy. She was seated on a plain metal chair and her hands were cuffed behind her back. She tried to shift her weight to test her bonds, and discovered that her ankles were tied to the chairs legs. She could not move.

"So, finally awake _gaijin_?" Called a voice mockingly.

Her head spun wildly towards the sound of the voice. "Who's there? Who are you?" She felt her skin crawl as low laughter from multiple men was heard. "Where are we?" She continued to try and focus on the sound, but her senses were still fuzzy. At last a blurry image of a man came into view.

"What's the matter _gaijin_?" Taunted the man. "Trouble seeing straight?"

"Who are you?" She tried to be strong and defiant, but the words barely came out. She could hear now the slurring of her own words. "What did you do to me?"

The man crouched down low to face her. "I don't see you being much trouble, but our client said you might be a pain. So we took some precautions." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a vile of pills. "Seeing as you're awake now, I guess you need some more."

She struggled to get away, the chair squeaking against the bare concrete floor. "Please don't do this." She cried openly now.

"Don't worry." The man move closer, shaking the pills into his hand. "We're not into little ones like you." He paused and looked into the shadows as laughter emerged. "Well, at least I think they're not." He laughed as his victim's face went pale.

She closed her mouth tight as he extended the pills toward her, but he pinched her nose to cut off her breathing. She felt the pills enter her mouth and reflexively swallowed.

The man leaned forward as the girl's eyes began to droop. "Don't worry Maehara. You'll get to see your brother one more time before I kill him."

Tears rolled silently down Mai's cheeks as she was forced back into her fitful slumber.

00000

"Mai!" Shinichi bolted upright as he screamed the name. He looked around quickly and realized he was back at the Hinata-_sou_.

Aijou cringed as she heard Shinichi begin swearing in a multitude of languages. She recognized a few distinctly, but this was a rant that you really didn't need to understand to get the point. "Three, two, one." She stuck out her foot as the door opened.

"Not this time Ai." Shinichi leapt over the girl's out stretched foot. "I've got to find Mai." He jumped on to the hand rail and slid his way down the stairs, using a flip to dismount at the end to avoid Toshi's _bokken_. "Not today." He slid across the floor and jumped over the second story banister to the roof outside.

"Sic'em!" Erika shouted as she released a squad of her newest attack mecha.

Shinichi turned. "Sit!"

Erika stared dumbfounded as her creations obeyed and allowed Shinichi to pass unharmed.

Shinichi jumped to the lowest level and made a break for the front door. "I have to find…" He stopped short as the door flew open and a shoe came rocketing at his face.

"You! Ass!" Inari dropped her packages to the ground and rushed forward. "What the hell?" She launched into a spinning kick, scoring a direct hit to Shinichi's chin. "You just up and left me at the mall without a word! You…" She stopped as Shinichi crashed into the wall. "You're bleeding…" She crouched down next to the boy, concern apparent on her face. "I didn't even hit you that hard. Even at full strength, I didn't think I could make you bleed." She lifted his chin gently. "What happened?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Sarah threw her cigarette to the ground before entering the house. "All we really know right now is that Mai's been abducted."

"What?" Inari spun toward the older woman. "By who?"

Sarah shook her head. "We really don't know."

Shinichi stood and wiped the blood from his lip. "Doesn't matter." He moved towards the door. "There's still time. If I follow the highway, I might still be able to catch her trail."

"No you won't." Sarah replied as she blocked the doorway. "And you know it."

Shinichi did not stop his advance. "Get out of my way Aunt Sarah."

"You said you lost her trail." Aijou's voice was soft and sad as she came down the stairs. "If you couldn't find her right after the fact, how are you going to find her almost three hours later?"

Shinichi stopped, his hands balled into fists. "I can't just sit here Aijou. I'm supposed to be the one looking out for her and I…"

"I know…"

"You don't!" Shinichi turned. His face mixed with anger, hate, and fear. "If something happens to her it is all my fault! She shouldn't even be here! She should be at home with my mom where they're both safe and out of harms way!" His head fell forward, obscuring his face behind shadows and his burnt hair. "But because she thinks she has to take care of her stupid, selfish, older brother…"

Kam ran up and punched Shinichi in the face. He looked down at the younger boy. "Stop spouting that idiotic garbage."

Shinichi held his cheek as he looked up at his friend. It was hard to tell whether the tears on his face were from Kam's blow or not.

"That's not why she came after you."

Shinichi looked away. "You don't understand…"

"Then tell me." Kam looked around. "Tell us."

Shinichi kept his head down. "I…can't." He tapped his fingers on the ground.

"Why not?" Erika pleaded.

"I just can't."

Toshi studied the boy intently, trying to read his body language for insight. She didn't like what she saw. Shinichi had been very careful not to move since Kam had knocked him to the floor. A person couldn't hold a position like that with out training, and that sort of training would not be used unless there was a good reason. He knew she was trying to read him. "What are you hiding?"

Inari blinked at Toshi's words. Too late she sensed what Shinichi was doing. "Don't you dare!"

Inuki raced into the room and stood before her adopted master.

"I can't risk anyone else." Shinichi whispered as he reached for the dog. He pet her softly. "Shadow Walk."

"Sarah! Hold the door!" Toshi warned as both Shinichi and Inuki vanished from sight and sense.

Sarah watched in confusion as the screen door beside her was broken out. She grabbed for the escapees, but took hold of only empty air.

The household looked at the stairs. They couldn't see anything, but they knew that was were he was racing away right now.

Aijou turned toward Erika. "What have you got that can track him?"

"Temporary truce?" Erika raised an eyebrow and grinned as Aijou nodded curtly. "Come on." She grabbed the older girl by the arm and disappeared into one of the Hinata-sou's secret tunnels.

Kam turned toward the door. "Guess we'll find out how good of a teacher Shin is."

Inari nodded in response.

"Wait!" Sarah grabbed for the two children as they rushed for the door. She caught Kam's shirt at the collar, but Inari was faster. Kam pulled away, ripping his shirt in the process, and followed after his free spirited housemate leaving Sarah with only a handful of cotton cloth.

Toshi stepped up behind Sarah. "We should go after them."

Sarah said nothing.

Toshi watched uncomfortably as Sarah reached for her cigarettes. "You let them go, didn't you?

Sarah watched the smoke as it drifted toward the sky. "He didn't even have the decency to knock us out…" She muttered at the memory.

"What are you talking about?" Toshi demanded.

Sarah walked toward the steps. "I'm going on ahead. Do what you will."

Toshi stared blankly as Sarah calmly walked down the stairs. She ran after Sarah, but by the time that reached the steps, the blonde was long gone. She sighed heavily. "Just like mother said. A golden haired ghost."

She watched the town silently as she opened her senses. Like so many times before the world opened to her in a new light. She could sense her friends that were still nearby. Sarah's presence weak and dispersed. Aijou's spirit aflame and Erika preparing her machines. Inari on the hunt and Kam close behind seeking something intensely. Mai and Shinichi had vanished into the darkness. Her eyes snapped open as she wheeled about to stare at the Hinata-_sou_. She leapt to the roof as quickly as she could, but it was too late. All that remained was a single sheet of paper pinned to the roof with a dagger. Toshi bit her lip. "Damn it…who are you?"

End

00000

Rider: So? Good? Bad? Other? If you have a moment, please leave a little something to tell me what you think. As always, all comments are greatly welcomed.

Wraiths: …

Star: …

Rider: What? (Turns back to reader) Ok, they're probably going to glare at me a while longer. Um, anyway, for those who care I will attempt to update Flower Maiden in a few days, and then my Naruto fic after that. I'll try to round robin them so no fic goes untouched for too long. Also, part of my inspiration to come back to this story is due to forum I was invited to join. It's a Love Hina Role Play forum. Those of you who are laughing, I had the same initial response, but it's actually a lot of fun. Anyway, I want to try to help the board grow, so if you're interested in joining up PM or what not and I'll send you the link. It's not my board so I don't want to just post it up incase someone decides to spam it to hell and back cause they're bored. Alright, I think that's everything for now.

Wraiths: See you round people.

Star: Ja ne!

Rider: 'Till the next, live well all.


End file.
